Solubilization of carbon nanotubes by Nafion toward the preparation of amperometric biosensors

The ability to solubilize single-wall and multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNT) in the presence of the perfluorinated polymer Nafion is described. Such use of Nafion as a solubilizing agent for CNT overcomes a major obstacle for creating CNT-based biosensing devices. Their association with Nafion does not impair the electrocatalytic properties of CNT. The resulting CNT/Nafion modified glassy-carbon electrodes exhibit a strong and stable electrocatalytic response toward hydrogen peroxide. The marked acceleration of the hydrogen peroxide redox process is very attractive for the operation of oxidase-based amperometric biosensors, as illustrated for the highly selective low-potential (-0.05 V vs Ag/AgCl) biosensing of glucose. These findings open the door for using CNT in a wide range of chemical sensors and nanoscale electronic devices. Copyright © 2003 American Chemical Society.