The development of immunosensors to detect antibodies or antigens has stood out in the face of traditional methods for diagnosing emerging diseases such as the one caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The present study reports the construction of a simplified electrochemical immunosensor using a graphene-binding peptide applied as a recognition site to detect SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. A screen-printed electrode was used for sensor preparation by adding a solution of peptide and reduced graphene oxide (rGO). The peptide-rGO suspension was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The electrochemical characterization (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy—EIS, cyclic voltammetry—CV and differential pulse voltammetry—DPV) was performed on the modified electrode. The immunosensor response is based on the decrease in the faradaic signal of an electrochemical probe resulting from immunocomplex formation. Using the best set of experimental conditions, the analytic curve obtained showed a good linear regression (r² = 0.913) and a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.77 μg mL⁻¹ for antibody detection. The CV and EIS results proved the efficiency of device assembly. The high selectivity of the platform, which can be attributed to the peptide, was demonstrated by the decrease in the current percentage for samples with antibody against the SARS-CoV-2 S protein and the increase in the other antibodies tested. Additionally, the DPV measurements showed a clearly distinguishable response in assays against human serum samples, with sera with a response above 95% being considered negative, whereas responses below this value were considered positive. The diagnostic platform developed with specific peptides is promising and has the potential for application in the diagnosis of other infections that lead to high antibody titers.

Passive direct methanol fuel cells (pDMFCs) are promising devices to replace the conventional batteries in portable electronic devices, due to their higher energy densities, autonomies, and instant recharging. However, some challenges, such as their costs, efficiency, and durability, need to be overcome before their commercialization. Towards that, this work presents the effect of the anode diffusion layer (ADL) properties on the performance of a pDMFC using a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) with reduced loadings on both anode and cathode catalysts (3 mg/cm² Pt/Ru on the anode and 1.3 mg/cm² of Pt on the cathode). The pDMFC behavior was evaluated through polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements, which allow identifying and quantifying the different losses that affect these systems. The results showed better performances when a diffusion layer with a dual-layer structure was used using higher methanol concentrations. The maximum power density achieved was 3.00 mW/cm², using carbon cloth with a microporous layer, CC_MPL, as ADL, and a methanol concentration of 5 M. In this work, a tailored and low-cost MEA, using the materials available in the market, was proposed to achieve higher performances working under higher methanol concentrations. This work demonstrates that performing modifications on the fuel cell structure/design is an efficient way to achieve optimized performances.