A novel mesoporous silica nanosphere matrix for the immobilization of proteins and their applications as electrochemical biosensor

A mesoporous silica nanoshpere (MSN) was proposed to modify glassy carbon electrode (GCE) for the immobilization of protein. Using glucose oxidase (GOD) as a model, direct electrochemistry of protein and biosensing at the MSN modified GCE was studied for the first time. The MNS had large surface area and offered a favorable microenvironment for facilitating the direct electron transfer between enzyme and electrode surface. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, UV–vis spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry were used to examine the interaction between GOD and the MSN matrix. The results demonstrated that the immobilized enzyme on the MSN retained its native structure and bioactivity. In addition, the electrochemical reaction showed a surface controlled, reversible two-proton and two-electron transfer process with the apparent electron transfer rate constant of 3.96 s−1. The MNS-based glucose biosensor exhibited the two linear ranges of 0.04–2.0 mM and 2.0–4.8 mM, a high sensitivity of 14.5 mA M−1 cm−2 and a low detection limit of 0.02 mM at signal-to-noise of 3. The proposed biosensor showed excellent selectivity, good reproducibility, acceptable stability and could be successfully applied in the reagentless detection of glucose in real samples at −0.45 V. The work displayed that mesoporous silica nanosphere provided a promising approach for immobilizing proteins and fabrication of excellent biosensors.