Fabrication of novel chitosan nanofiber/gold nanoparticles composite towards improved performance for a cholesterol sensor

A novel amperometric cholesterol biosensor was fabricated by the immobilization of ChOx (cholesterol oxidase) onto the chitosan nanofibers/gold nanoparticles (designated as CSNFs/AuNPs) composite network (NW). The fabrication involves preparation of chitosan nanofibers (CSNFs) and subsequent electrochemical loading of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) was used to investigate the morphology of CSNFs (sizes in the range of ∼50–100 nm) and spherical AuNPs. Cyclic voltammetry, hydrodynamic voltammetry and amperometry were used to examine the performance of CSNF–AuNPs/ChOx biosensor. The CSNF–AuNPs/ChOx biosensor exhibited a wide linear response to cholesterol (concentration range of 1–45 μM), good sensitivity (1.02 μA/μM), low response time (∼5 s) and excellent long term stability. The combined existence of AuNPs within CSNFs NW provides the excellent performance of the biosensor towards the electrochemical detection of cholesterol.