Biocatalysis on plastic stick tips: unconventional electrochemical enzyme biosensing on adjacent bare working electrode disks†

Abstract

Glucose oxidase (GOx) was sustainably immobilized on the flattened tips of PVC sticks and achieved glucose analysis in electrochemical (EC) cells with a matching electrode set. The innovative ‘enzyme-on-a-stick’ concept is resource-saving, as working electrodes (WEs) are left bare, so skills in their adaptation are unnecessary and WE and immobilization innovations can be made autonomously. Tailored pools of PVC sticks, each modified with a particular enzyme, can serve as a readily accessible and reusable source for rapid analyte switching, according to a stick's substrate specificity. The ‘enzyme on-a-stick’ tactic implies a wide potential applicability, given the range of redox enzymes available.