In situ attachment of cupric oxide nanoparticles to mesoporous carbons for sensitive amperometric non-enzymatic sensing of glucose

A convenient method was developed to directly attaching cupric oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs) on mesoporous carbons (MCs) for sensitive amperometric non-enzymatic sensing of glucose. The CuONPs–MCs nanocomposite was characterized with transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Based on the advantageous functions of CuONPs and MCs, the functional nanocomposite modified glassy carbon electrode showed high electrocatalytic activity toward the oxidation of glucose. Due to the electrocatalytic activity to glucose, a non-enzymatic glucose sensor was constructed based on the CuONPs–MCs nanocomposite. Under optimal experimental conditions, the designed sensor exhibited a wide linear response to glucose ranging from 4 × 10−7 to 7.3 × 10−3 M with a high sensitivity of 1154.1 μA mM−1 cm−2 and a low detection limit down to 0.1 μM at the signal to noise ratio of 3. This sensor showed good accuracy, acceptable precision and reproducibility. The assay results of glucose in human blood serums with the proposed method were in a good agreement with the reference values. The functionalization of MCs with CuONPs provided good biocompatible platform for sensing and catalysis.