Optimising processing parameters for immobilisation of protein on graphene oxide

Immobilisation of protein on a support material preserves its activity and stability. The properties of the support such as surface area and abundance of functional groups, play a major role in the attachment of protein to the substrate. The physical and chemical attachment of bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a model protein onto graphene oxide (GO) as a substrate have been investigated in this research. The adsorption efficiency of BSA to synthesized GO in both acidic and neutral media was greater than 70%. However, BSA demonstrated stronger attachment to graphene oxide in acidic environment (pH=4). In addition to experimental studies, the preferred interaction site on BSA with lowest binding energy and the suitable design for the structure of GO have been explored by molecular docking

Graphene and graphene oxide as a support for biomolecules in the development of biosensors

Graphene and graphene oxide have become the base of many advanced biosensors due to their exceptional characteristics. However, lack of some properties, such as inertness of graphene in organic solutions and non-electrical conductivity of graphene oxide, are their drawbacks in sensing applications. To compensate for these shortcomings, various methods of modifications have been developed to provide the appropriate properties required for biosensing. Efficient modification of graphene and graphene oxide facilitates the interaction of biomolecules with their surface, and the ultimate bioconjugate can be employed as the main sensing part of the biosensors. Graphene nanomaterials as transducers increase the signal response in various sensing applications. Their large surface area and perfect biocompatibility with lots of biomolecules provide the prerequisite of a stable biosensor, which is the immobilization of bioreceptor on transducer. Biosensor development has paramount importance in the field of environmental monitoring, security, defense, food safety standards, clinical sector, marine sector, biomedicine, and drug discovery. Biosensor applications are also prevalent in the plant biology sector to find the missing links required in the metabolic process. In this review, the importance of oxygen functional groups in functionalizing the graphene and graphene oxide and different types of functionalization will be explained. Moreover, immobilization of biomolecules (such as protein, peptide, DNA, aptamer) on graphene and graphene oxide and at the end, the application of these biomaterials in biosensors with different transducing mechanisms will be discussed