A series of polycyclic aromatics, naphthalene, phenanthrene, perylene, pyrene, 1-pyrenebutyric acid N-hydroxysuccinimide ester (pyrene NHS) and coronene, were immobilized via π stacking on carbon nanotube (CNT) electrodes and electro-oxidized in aqueous solutions. The obtained quinones were characterized and evaluated for the mediated electron transfer with FAD dependent glucose dehydrogenase during catalytic glucose oxidation.

<!-- *** Custom HTML *** --> Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) is a signaling protein of inflammatory processes. TNF-α overexpression triggers inflammatory processes related to various diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, Chagas, and others. For this reason, the TNF-α has been used as an important biological biomarker for prognosis, understanding, and disease treatment. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based biosensors are a good alternative for TNF-α detection because they are more sensitive than other techniques and have the ability to be developed miniaturized systems. Then we developed a nanohole array on gold nanofilm-based SPR biosensor for TNF-α detection. A biological biorecognition system (cysteamine/biotin/streptavidin/TNF-α antibody) was formed and TNF-α antigen was detected by transmitted light intensity monitoring. TNF-α antigen at 17 pg mL^−  1 was detected from fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis-infected rat blood serum. This concentration is far below those found in similar studies in the literature. This plasmonic device opens new opportunities for TNF-α detection.

A series of new glyconanoparticles (GNPs) was obtained by self-assembly by direct nanoprecipitation of a mixture of two carbohydrate amphiphilic copolymers consisting of polystyrene-block-β-cyclodextrin and polystyrene-block-maltoheptaose with different mass ratios, respectively 0–100, 10–90, 50–50 and 0–100%. Characterizations for all these GNPs were achieved using dynamic light scattering, scanning and transmission electron microscopy techniques, highlighting their spherical morphology and their nanometric size (diameter range 20–40 nm). In addition, by using the inclusion properties of cyclodextrin, these glyconanoparticles were successfully post-functionalized using a water-soluble redox compound, such as anthraquinone sulfonate (AQS) and characterized by cyclic voltammetry. The resulting glyconanoparticles exhibit the classical electroactivity of free AQS in solution. The amount of AQS immobilized by host–guest interactions is proportional to the percentage of polystyrene-block-β-cyclodextrin entering into the composition of GNPs. The modulation of the surface density of the β-cyclodextrin at the shell of the GNPs may constitute an attractive way for the elaboration of different electroactive GNPs and even GNPs modified by biotinylated proteins.