Fabrication of novel chitosan nanofiber/gold nanoparticles composite towards improved performance for a cholesterol sensor

A novel amperometric cholesterol biosensor was fabricated by the immobilization of ChOx (cholesterol oxidase) onto the chitosan nanofibers/gold nanoparticles (designated as CSNFs/AuNPs) composite network (NW). The fabrication involves preparation of chitosan nanofibers (CSNFs) and subsequent electrochemical loading of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) was used to investigate the morphology of CSNFs (sizes in the range of similar to 50-100 nm) and spherical AuNPs. Cyclic voltammetry, hydrodynamic voltammetry and amperometry were used to examine the performance of CSNF-AuNPs/ChOx biosensor. The CSNF-AuNPs/ChOx biosensor exhibited a wide linear response to cholesterol (concentration range of 1-45 mu M), good sensitivity (1.02 mu A/mu M). low response time (similar to 5 s) and excellent long term stability. The combined existence of AuNPs within CSNFs NW provides the excellent performance of the biosensor towards the electrochemical detection of cholesterol. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.