Room-temperature ionic liquid-based electrochemical nanobiosensors

Room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) have proved to be excellent materials for applications in electrochemistry. We review progress in constructing high-performance electrochemical biosensors. We also discuss: different modified electrodes based on RTILs for biosensing applications; different routes for enzyme biosensing based on RTIL-modified electrodes; incorporation of biorecognition elements into RTIL-based electrodes; electroanalytical applications of RTIL-based modified electrodes; and, recent developments in which the advantages of us as a medium for biosensing were realized. We also summarize the latest developments in the applications of RTIL-based electrochemical biosensors in ultrasensitive detection of biological entities, especially nucleic acids and proteins. We review different types of RTIL-based electrochemical biosensors (e.g., based on enzymes, proteins and nucleic acids) in terms of their sensing performance and potential for future development. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.