Abstract In this work, Co3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) with an average diameter of about 30 nm were synthesized using MOFs as a template. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)… Click to show full abstract
Abstract In this work, Co3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) with an average diameter of about 30 nm were synthesized using MOFs as a template. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) investigation showed that Co3O4 nanocrystals embedded in mesoporous graphitic carbon layer/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) uniformly. The structure of the final nanocomposite (denoted as Co3O4@C-MWCNTs) was further confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectra and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) techniques. As a result, electrochemical study demonstrated that the Co3O4@C-MWCNTs modified glassy carbon electrode exhibited excellent electrochemical activity toward the reduction of O2 − with a super wide linear range from 5.00 × 10−12 to 1.00 × 10−4 M and very low detection limit (LOD) of 1.67 × 10−12 M (S/N = 3). Importantly, three kinds of stimulants were selected to monitor the flux of O2 − released from living cells. By using phorbol 12-myristate-13-acetate as optimal stimulus, the novel non-enzymatic O2 − sensor can detect O2 − release from cancer cells, which has the great potential application in clinical diagnostics to assess oxidative stress of living cells.
               
Click one of the above tabs to view related content.