Self-assembly of hemin on carbon nanotube as highly active peroxidase mimetic and its application for biosensing

Abstract

Hemin was assembled on the surface of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) through non-covalent functionalization by π–π stacking. The resulting nanohybrid of hemin–SWCNT possessed an intrinsic peroxidase-like activity, and could effectively catalyze oxidation of the substrate 3,3,5,5-tetramethylbenzidine by H₂O₂ to develop a blue color in aqueous solution. The activity of hemin–SWCNT hybrid material was much higher than the activity of hemin alone. Combination of the catalytic reaction of glucose with glucose oxidase and the hemin–SWCNT hybrid catalytic reaction, a colorimetric method for glucose detection was also developed. The hemin–SWCNT nanohybrid also exhibited high stability and excellent reusability.