Detection of Heavy Metal Ions by Newly Designed Biosensor with Well-Formed 3D Nano-Structure

Detection of some pollutants in water or some markers in blood require high sensitive techniques. Apart from expensive laboratory equipment, biosensors are another possibility. In the biosensor development crucial is the active bioreceptor layer which interacts with the analyte. Here we propose nano-thin organic films prepared by the Langmuir-Blodgett method from a fluorescently labelled phospholipid with well-developed 3D structure, which should yield increased sensor sensitivity. The average thickness of the layer is 3 nm suggesting fast reaction times. We test this structure by detecting Cd <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2+</sup> ions dissolved in pure water. The transduction of the signal is performed in two ways: optically, by measuring fluorescence intensity; and with a newly developed setup for electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.