Electrochemical Biosensing Techniques for Glucose Detection Using Nanostructured Materials

Electrochemical biosensors for glucose measurement harness the principles of electron transfer at an electrode interface to quantify glucose concentrations with high sensitivity and rapid response. Incorporation of nanostructured materials—such as metal nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes and conducting polymer composites—has revolutionised this field by dramatically increasing the active surface area, tuning the electrocatalytic properties and enhancing stability against fouling and interference. Enzymatic sensors typically employ glucose oxidase immobilised on a nanostructured support, converting glucose to gluconolactone with concomitant generation of hydrogen peroxide or mediated redox reactions. Non-enzymatic approaches exploit direct electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose on metallic or metal–oxide surfaces, obviating the need for biological components and improving operational resilience to temperature, pH variations and biological inhibitors. Advances in one-step electrodeposition, core–shell architectures and hybrid polymer–metallic composites have led to ultrasensitive detection limits in the nanomolar to micromolar range, fast response times under five seconds and broad linear ranges extending to tens of millimoles per litre. Beyond clinical monitoring of diabetes, these platforms are increasingly applied in biofuel cells, food and beverage quality control and wearable health-monitoring devices, underscoring their global significance and practical versatility.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have explored core–shell gold–nickel nanoparticles as robust non-enzymatic electrodes, combining the electrocatalytic activity and biocompatibility of gold with the poisoning tolerance of nickel. These sensors operate at low overpotentials and deliver rapid amperometric responses, wide linear ranges and sub-micromolar detection limits, while resisting chloride interference. Template-free, one-step electrodeposition methods have enabled the fabrication of platinum nanopetals and nanospheres directly on electrode surfaces, yielding up to two orders of magnitude improvement in electroactive surface area and enhanced direct glucose oxidation currents. Seed-mediated growth of gold nanostructures with controlled morphologies—ranging from porous networks to carved nanoballs—has yielded sensors exhibiting exceptional sensitivity, reproducibility and long-term stability, positioning these routes as scalable strategies for non-enzymatic glucose detection.

Electrochemical Biosensing Techniques for Glucose Detection Using Nanostructured Materials publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in electrochemical biosensing techniques for glucose detection using nanostructured materials across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Electrochemical biosensor: A device that converts the biochemical interaction between an analyte and a biological or catalytic element into an electrical signal for quantification.

Nanostructured material: A substance engineered at the nanometre scale (1–100 nm) to enhance surface area, electronic properties and catalytic activity.

Enzymatic sensor: A biosensor that employs an enzyme, such as glucose oxidase, to catalyse a specific reaction, producing an electroactive species for detection.

Non-enzymatic sensor: A glucose sensor relying on direct electrocatalytic oxidation on metallic or metal-oxide surfaces without biological recognition elements.

Electrocatalyst: A material that accelerates redox reactions at an electrode interface, improving sensitivity and selectivity.

Limit of detection (LOD): The lowest concentration of analyte that produces a signal distinguishable from the background noise, typically defined at a signal‐to‐noise ratio of three.

References

1. Boosted Electrocatalytic Glucose Oxidation Reaction on Noble-Metal-Free MoO3-Decorated Carbon Nanotubes. Transactions of Tianjin University (2024).
2. Core-shell gold-nickel nanostructures as highly selective and stable nonenzymatic glucose sensor for fermentation process. Scientific Reports (2020).
3. Fast synthesis of platinum nanopetals and nanospheres for highly-sensitive non-enzymatic detection of glucose and selective sensing of ions. Scientific Reports (2015).
4. Seed-mediated Electrochemically Developed Au Nanostructures with Boosted Sensing Properties: An Implication for Non-enzymatic Glucose Detection. Scientific Reports (2020).
5. Formation and Electrochemical Evaluation of Polyaniline and Polypyrrole Nanocomposites Based on Glucose Oxidase and Gold Nanostructures. Polymers (2020).
6. Nickel-based catalysts for non-enzymatic electrochemical sensing of glucose: A review. Physics in Medicine (2022).