Nanomagnet-silica shell (Fe3O4@SiO2) decorated with Au@Pd nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized successfully. The characterization of Fe3O4@SiO2-NH2-Au@PdNPs was achieved using several spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. The quantitative surface analysis was confirmed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The Fe3O4@SiO2-NH2-Au@Pd0.30NPs exhibited excellent peroxidase-like activity by effectively catalyzing the oxidation of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) in the presence of H2O2. The absorption peaks at 370 and 652 nm confirmed the peroxidase-like activity of the Fe3O4@SiO2-NH2-Au@Pd0.30NPs. The Michaelis-Menten constant (Km) of 0.350 and 0.090 mM showed strong affinity toward H2O2 and TMB at Fe3O4@SiO2-NH2-Au@Pd0.30NPs. The mechanism of the peroxidase-like activity was found to proceed via an electron transfer process. A simple colorimetric sensor based on glucose oxidase and Fe3O4@SiO2-NH2-Au@Pd0.30NPs showed excellent selectivity and sensitivity towards the detection of glucose. The fabricated glucose biosensor exhibited a wide linear response toward glucose from 0.010 to 60.0 μM with an limit of detection of 60.0 nM and limit of quantification of 200 nM. The colorimetric biosensor based on Fe3O4@SiO2-NH2-Au@Pd0.30NPs as a peroxidase mimic was also successfully applied for the determination of glucose concentrations in serum samples. The synthesized Fe3O4@SiO2-NH2-Au@Pd0.30NPs nanozymes exhibited excellent potential as an alternative to horseradish peroxidase for low-cost glucose monitoring.
Keywords: glucose sensor; gold@palladium nanoparticles; nanomagnets-silica; nanozyme; peroxidase-like activity.