In this work, an enzymatic sensor, based on a bionanocomposite film consisting of a polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) (Chitosan/kappa-carrageenan) doped with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) encapsulating glucose oxidase (GOD) deposited on a gold electrode (Au) for glucose sensing, is described. Using the electrocatalytic synergy of AuNPs and GOD as a model of enzyme, the variation of the current (µA) as a function of the log of the glucose concentration (log [glucose]), shows three times higher sensitivity for the modified electrode (283.9) compared to that of the PEC/GOD modified electrode (93.7), with a detection limit of about 5 µM and a linearity range between 10 µM and 7 mM. The response of the PEC/AuNPs/GOD based biosensor also presents good reproducibility, stability, and negligible interfering effects from ascorbic acid, uric acid, urea, and creatinine. The applicability of the PEC/AuNPs/GOD based biosensor was tested in glucose-spiked saliva samples and acceptable recovery rates were obtained.

Phenolic compounds such as catechol are present in a wide variety of foods and beverages; they are of great importance due to their antioxidant properties. This research presents the development of a sensitive and biocompatible molecular imprinted sensor for the electrochemical detection of catechol, based on natural biopolymer-electroactive nanocomposites. Gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-decorated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) have been encapsulated in a polymeric chitosan (CS) matrix. This chitosan nanocomposite has been used to develop a molecular imprinted polymers (MIP) in the presence of catechol on a boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrode. The structure of the decorated MWCNT has been studied by TEM, whereas the characterization of the sensor surface has been imaged by AFM, demonstrating the satisfactory adsorption of the film and the adequate coverage of the decorated carbon nanotubes on the electrode surface. The electrochemical response of the sensor has been analyzed by cyclic voltammetry (CV) where excellent reproducibility and repeatability to catechol detection in the range of 0 to 1 mM has been found, with a detection limit of 3.7 × 10⁻⁵ M. Finally, the developed sensor was used to detect catechol in a real wine sample.

This work reports the manufacturing procedure for an impedimetric immunosensor for sensitive detection of the mycotoxin, ochratoxin A (OTA), through electroaddressing of diazonium functionalized antibodies on the working electrode of a planar Boron Doped Diamond (BDD) electrochemical microcell. The immunosensor elaboration and the immunochemical reaction between ochratoxin A and the surface-bound antibody were monitored using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The impedance variation due to the specific antibody–OTA interaction was correlated with the OTA concentration in the samples. The increase in electron-transfer resistance values presents a sigmoidal shape versus log concentration of OTA, with a dynamic range between 7 pg mL⁻¹ and 25 ng mL⁻¹. A limit of detection (LOD) of 7 pg mL⁻¹ and a IC₅₀ of 1.2 ng mL⁻¹ were obtained. The immunosensor thus fabricated exhibited high sensitivity, good reproducibility, long-term stability, and was used for the detection of OTA in real coffee samples with a good recovery rate. The reported validated manufacturing procedure is compatible with the production of microarrays for multidetection.

Galactomannan, a neutral polysaccharide, was extracted from carob seeds and characterized. It was used for the first time for the fabrication of a laccase-based biosensor by the encapsulation of laccase in a chitosan+galactomannan composite. The fabricated biosensor was characterized by FTIR, scanning electron microscopy and cyclic voltammetry. The pyrocatechol detection was obtained by cyclic voltammetry measurements, through the detection of o-quinone at −0.447 V. The laccase activity was well preserved in the chitosan+galactomannan composite and the sensitivity of detection of pyrocatechol in the 10⁻¹⁶ M–10⁻⁴ M range was very high. The voltammetric response of the biosensor was stable for more than two weeks. To estimate the antioxidant capacity of olive oil samples, it was shown that the obtained laccase-based biosensor is a valuable alternative to the colorimetric Folin–Ciocalteu method.