Order beyond a monolayer: the story of two 4,4’-bipyridine layers on the Sb(111) | ionic liquid interface

The interface between semi-metallic Sb(111) electrode and ionic liquid with 4,4’-bipyridine addition has been studied. Using in situ scanning tunnelling microscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, the desorption of 4,4’-bipyridine was demonstrated and a dense underlying structure, formed below a sparse self-assembled monolayer, was visualized. The first SAM layer in contact with the electrode consisted of tightly packed ordered rows, which fine structure has been identified with density functional theory calculations supported by machine learning. The second SAM layer, on top of the first, is characterised by low surface concentration and its unit cell was obtained experimentally. The detection of two separate adsorbed layers indicates that the ordering of organic molecules could extend well beyond the monolayer on the electrode’s surface. These insights are of fundamental and practical importance in the development of nanoelectronic devices.

Ratiometric Electrochemical Biosensor Based on Internally Controlled Duplex PCR for Detection of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis

The pathogenic bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is responsible for tuberculosis, which is well known as the globally leading cause of death. The likelihood of false negative interpretation as well as potential influence from intrinsic and extrinsic factors are considerably minimized by the incorporation of internal control (IC) detection in the developed assay platform. Ratiometric electrochemical (REC) biosensor for detection of MTB was developed based on the IC integration via duplex PCR (dPCR) and a dual-signal electrochemical readout. The MTB- or IC-specific PNA probe was labeled with methylene blue (MB) or ferrocene (FC), respectively at the C terminus, producing a strong square wave voltammetry signal. Interaction of the ICdPCR product could induce changes in the dynamics of these two redox-labeled PNA probes (MTB-MB and IC-FC) that were attached to the screen-printed gold electrode via formation of a self-assembled monolayer. Using this MB as a reporter and FC as an IC, the REC ICdPCR biosensor achieved a broad detection range from 10 fM to 10 nM and a detection limit of 1.26 fM, corresponding to approximately 2.5 bacteria cells. The REC ICdPCR biosensor was applied to MTB measurement in practical samples, exhibiting high accuracy and more importantly high practicability.

Alloying and Phase Transformation of Fe/FeNi Core/Alloy Nanoparticles at High Temperatures

This work explores how to form and tailor the alloy composition of Fe/FexNi1-x core/alloy nanoparticles by annealing a pre-formed particle at elevated temperatures between 180 – 325 oC. This annealing allowed for a systematic FeNi alloying at a nanoparticle whose compositions and structure began as a alpha-Fe rich core, and a thin gamma-Ni rich shell, into mixed phases resembling gamma-FeNi3 and gamma-Fe3Ni2. This was possible in part by controlling surface diffusion via annealing temperature, and the enhanced diffusion at the many grain boundaries of the nanoparticle. Lattice expansion and phase change was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), and composition was monitored by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Of interest is that no phase precipitation was observed (i.e., heterostructure formation) in this system and the XRD results suggest that alloying composition or alloy gradient is uniform. This uniform alloying was considered using calculations of bulk diffusion and grain boundary diffusion for Fe and Ni self-diffusion, as well as Fe-Ni impurity diffusion is provided. In addition, alloying was further considered by calculations for Fe-Ni mixing enthalpy (Hmix) and phase segregation enthalpy (HSeg) using the Miedema model, which allowed for the consideration of alloying favorability or core-shell segregation in the alloying, respectively. Of particular interest is the formation of stable metal carbides compositions, which suggest that the typically inert organic self-assembled monolayer encapsulation can also be internalized.

Sensitive Electrochemical Detection of Phosphorylated-Tau Threonine 231 in Human Serum Using Interdigitated Wave-Shaped Electrode

The development of an electrochemical biosensor for the detection of phosphorylated-tau threonine 231 (p-tau231), a biomarker of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), has yet to be achieved. Therefore, in this study, we developed a simple, small size, cheap, and sensitive electrochemical biosensor based on an interdigitated wave-shaped electrode via an activated self-assembled monolayer to preserve a specific anti–p-tau231 antibody (IWE/SAM/EDC-NHS/anti–p-tau231). Detection of p-tau231 in human serum (HS) using the biosensor was undertaken using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The change in charge-transfer resistance (Rct) in the EIS analysis of the biosensor indicated the detection of p-tau231 in HS within a wide linear range of detection (10−4–101 ng mL−1), and a low limit of detection (140 pg mL−1). This lower limit is less than the detection level of p-tau231 in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) (700 pg mL−1) of AD patients and the level of CSF p-tau231 of patients with mild cognitive impairment (501 pg mL−1), demonstrating the possibility of using the biosensor in detection of p-tau231 at early stage AD. A high binding affinity and low dissociation constant (Kd) between anti–p-tau231 and p-tau231 in HS was demonstrated by using a biosensor and Kd was 7.6 pM, demonstrating the high specific detection of p-tau231 by the biosensor. The good selectivity of the biosensor for the detection of p-tau231 with differential analytes was also examined in this study.