Nanocomposite hydrogels based on liquid crystalline brush-like block copolymer-Au nanorods and their application in H2O2 detection.

New nanocomposite hydrogels from liquid crystalline brush-like block copolymers (LCBBCs) and gold nanorods (AuNRs) were synthesized and characterized. The hydrogels protected and stabilized AuNRs, which presented peroxidase-like activity and catalysed the oxidation of a substrate in the presence of H2O2 and elicited a sensitive chromogenic response. This reusable, table-top stable, free-standing nanocomposite hydrogel platform can be used to develop a simple and reproducible method to detect H2O2.