Improved direct electrochemistry for proteins adsorbed on a UV/ozone-treated carbon nanofiber electrode.

We studied the direct electron transfer (DET) of proteins on a carbon nanofiber (CNF) modified carbon film electrode by employing the one-step UV/ozone treatment of CNF. This treatment changed the CNF surface from hydrophobic to hydrophilic because a sufficient quantity of oxygen functional groups was introduced onto the CNF surface. Furthermore, this simple approach increased both the effective surface area and the number of edge-plane defect sites. As a result, the reversibility of redox species, such as ferrocyanide and dopamine, was greatly improved on the treated electrode surface. We obtained on efficient DET of bilirubin oxidase (BOD) and cytochrome c (cyt c) at the treated CNF electrode, which exhibited 38 (for BOD) and 6 (for cyt c) times higher than that at untreated CNF modified electrode. These results indicate that the combination of nanostructured carbon and this UV/ozone treatment process can efficiently create a functionalized surface for the electron transfer of proteins.