Highly sensitive and selective nanostructured microbiosensors for glucose and lactate simultaneous measurements in blood serum and in vivo in brain tissue

Highly sensitive and selective nanostructured lactate and glucose microbiosensors for their in vivo simultaneous determination in rat brain were developed based on carbon fiber microelectrodes (CFM) modified with nanoporous gold (NPG) using the Dynamic Hydrogen Bubble Template (DHBT) method. Electrodeposition of platinum nanoparticles (PtNP) onto the NPG film enhances the sensitivity and the electrocatalytic properties towards H2O2 detection. The nanostructured microelectrode platform was modified by glucose oxidase (GOx) and lactate oxidase (LOx) enzyme immobilization. High selective measurements were achieved by covering with a perm-selective layer of electropolymerized m-phenylenediamine, deposition of a Nafion® film and by using a null sensor. The morphological characteristics and electroanalytical performance of the microbiosensors were assessed, by scanning electron microscopy and electrochemical techniques, respectively. The PtNP/NPG/CFM shows a high sensitivity to H2O2 (5.96 A M-1 cm-2) at 0.36 V vs. Ag/AgCl, with a linear range from 0.2 to 200 μM, and an LOD of 10 nM. The microbiosensors were applied to the simultaneous determination of lactate and glucose in blood serum samples. Moreover, the basal extracellular concentrations of lactate and glucose were measured in vivo in four different rat brain structures. These results support the potential of the microbiosensor to be used as a valuable tool to investigate brain neurochemicals in vivo.