Facile synthesis of cuprous oxide nanowires decorated graphene oxide nanosheets nanocomposites and its application in label-free electrochemical immunosensor.

In this work, the assembly between one-dimensional (1D) nanomaterials and two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials was achieved by a simple method. Cuprous oxide nanowires decorated graphene oxide nanosheets (Cu2O@GO) nanocomposites were synthesized for the first time by a simple electrostatic self-assembly process. The nanostructure was well confirmed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) images. Taking advantages of good electrocatalytic activity and high specific surface area of Cu2O@GO nanocomposites, a label-free electrochemical immunosensor was developed by employing Cu2O@GO as signal amplification platform for the quantitative detection of alpha fetoprotein (AFP). In addition, toluidine blue (TB) was used as the electron transfer mediator to provide the electrochemical signal, which was adsorbed on graphene oxide nanosheets (GO NSs) by electrostatic attraction. The detection mechanism was based on the monitoring of the electrochemical current response change of TB by the square wave voltammetry (SWV) when immunoreaction occurred on the surface of electrode. Under optimal conditions, the proposed immunosensor displayed a high sensitivity and a low detection limit. This designed method may provide an effective method in the clinical diagnosis of AFP and other tumor markers. Copyright Â