Detection of the peanut allergen Ara h 6 in foodstuffs using a voltammetric biosensing approach

A voltammetric biosensor for Ara h 6 (a peanut allergen) detection in food samples was developed. Gold nanoparticle-modified screen-printed carbon electrodes were used to develop a sandwich-type immunoassay using two-monoclonal antibodies. The antibody-antigen interaction was detected through the electrochemical detection of enzymatically deposited silver. The immunosensor presented a linear range between 1 and 100 ng/ml, as well as high precision (inter-day RSD ≤9.8 %) and accuracy (recoveries ≥96.7 %). The detection and quantification limits were 0.27 and 0.88 ng/ml, respectively. It was possible to detect small levels of Ara h 6 in complex food matrices

Zno nanowires: Growth, properties and advantages

One-dimensional anisotropic nanostructures, and in particular nanowires, are under intensive investigations over the last decade owing to their unique physical properties and their documented performance in a wide range of opto-electronic and nano-photonic devices. Here, we present a short overview of the main assets of nanowire arrays with particular emphasis as materials for solar energy harvesting and conversion. A brief survey on the main growth techniques of ZnO nanowires, i.e. chemical vapor deposition and solution chemistry is also presented. © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015