Antibody-Conjugated Electrospun Nanofibers for Electrochemical Detection of Methamphetamine

Multifunctional electrospunnanofibers (ENs) with improved propertieshave increased attention nowadays. Their insoluble forms in waterwith decreased hydrophobicity are desired for the immobilization ofbiological molecules. Also, the addition of functional groups on thebackbone provides the conjugation of biomolecules onto the surfaceof ENs via covalent bonds to increase their stability. Here, poly-(vinylidenefluoride) (PVDF) was chosen to prepare a platform, which is insolublein water, and polyethylenimine (PEI) was used to add amine groupson the surface of ENs to bind biological molecules via covalent conjugation.So, PVDF-PEI nanofibers were prepared on a glassy carbon electrodeto immobilize an antimethamphetamine antibody (Anti-METH) as a modelbiomolecule. The obtained PVDF-PEI/Anti-METH was used for the bioelectrochemicaldetection of methamphetamine (METH), a common illicit drug. Bioelectrochemicaldetection of METH on PVDF-PEI/Anti-METH-coated electrodes was carriedout by voltammetry in the range of 2.0-50 ng/mL METH. Moreover,the effect of dansyl chloride (DNC) derivatization of METH on thesensitivity of PVDF-PEI/Anti-METH was tested. Finally, METH analysiswas carried out in synthetic body fluids. The obtained results showedthat PVDF-PEI ENs can be adopted as an immobilization matrix for thebiorecognition elements of biobased detection systems, and the derivativeof METH (METH-DNC) increased the sensitivity of PVDF-PEI/Anti-METH.