An electrochemiluminescent sensor for glucose employing a modified carbon nanotube paste electrode

A carbon nanotube paste (CNTP) electrode and a carbon nanotube paste/glucose oxidase (CNTP/GOx) electrode were prepared, and the electrochemiluminescent (ECL) behavior of luminol in the presence of glucose was investigated in detail at each of these electrodes. Compared to the classical carbon paste (CP) electrode, the CNTP electrode incorporating glucose oxidase greatly enhanced the response of the ECL sensor to glucose due to the electrocatalytic activity of the carbon nanotubes, the specificity of the enzymatic reaction, and the sensitivity of the luminol ECL reaction. Under optimal conditions, the electrode was found to respond linearly to glucose in the concentration range 1.0 × 10−6~2.0 × 10−3 mol/L, and the detection limit (defined as the concentration that can be detected at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3) was found to be a glucose concentration of 5.0 × 10−7 mol/L. The method used to prepare the CNTP/GOx electrode was very convenient, and the electrode surface could be renewed in the case of fouling by simply polishing or cutting it to expose a new and fully active surface. The relative standard deviations (RSD) were found to be 6.8% and 8.9% for the CNTP electrode and the CNTP/GOx electrode (n = 6). The electrode retained 95% of its initial response after two weeks.