Glyphosate Sensor Based on Nanostructured Water-Gated CuO Field-Effect Transistor

This research presents a comparative analysis of water-gated thin film transistors based on a copper oxide (CuO) semiconductor in the form of a smooth film and a nanostructured surface. A smooth CuO film was deposited through reactive magnetron sputtering followed by annealing in atmosphere at a temperature of 280 (Formula presented.) C. Copper oxide nanostructures were obtained by hydrothermal synthesis on a preliminary magnetron sputtered 2 nm thick CuO precursor followed by annealing at 280 (Formula presented.) C. An X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the samples revealed the presence of a tenorite (CuO) phase with a predominant orientation of (002). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies of the samples revealed a highly developed surface with crystallites having a monoclinic syngony and dimensions of 15–20 nm in thickness, 150 nm in length, and 100 nm in height relative to a 2.5 nm height for the CuO crystallites of the smooth film. Electric measurements of the studied devices revealed typical current–voltage characteristics of semiconductors with predominant hole conductivity. The maximum ON/OFF ratio at a rain-source voltage of 0.4 volts and −1.2 volts on the gate for a smooth film was (Formula presented.), and for a nanostructured transistor, it was (Formula presented.). However, a much stronger saturation of the channel was observed for the nanostructured channel than for the smooth film. A test solution containing glyphosate dissolved in deionized water in three different concentrations of 5, 10, and 15 (Formula presented.) mol/L was used during the experiments. The principle of operation was based on the preliminary saturation of the solution with Cu ions, followed by the formation of a metal–organic complex alongside glyphate. The glyphosate contents in the analyte led to a decrease in the conductivity of the transistor on the axis of the smooth film. In turn, the opposite effect was observed on the nanostructured surface, i.e., an increase in conductivity was noted upon the introduction of an analyte. Despite this, the overall sensitivity of the nanostructured device was twice as high as that of the device with a thin film channel. The relative changes in the field-effect transistor (FET) conductivity at maximum glyphosate concentrations of 15 (Formula presented.) mol/L reached 19.42% for the nanostructured CuO film and 3.3% for the smooth film. © 2022 by the authors. --//-- This is an open access article Ogurcovs A, Kadiwala K, Sledevskis E, Krasovska M, Mizers V., "Glyphosate Sensor Based on Nanostructured Water-Gated CuO Field-Effect Transistor", Sensors (2022) 22(22):8744, doi: 10.3390/s22228744 published under the CC BY 4.0 licence.This research was supported by State Education Development Agency, Project No. 1.1.1.2/16/I/001, Research Proposal No. 1.1.1.2/VIAA/4/20/590 “Portable diagnostic device based on a biosensor array of 2D material sensing elements”. Institute of Solid-State Physics, University of Latvia has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-Teaming Phase 2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART2

Assessment of Oxidative Stress by Detection of H2O2 in Rye Samples Using a CuO- and Co3O4-Nanostructure-Based Electrochemical Sensor

This research was supported by the European Regional Development Fund Activity 1.1.1.2 “Post-doctoral Research Aid”, research agreement no. 1.1.1.2/16/I/001, under grant no. 1.1.1.2/VIAA/4/20/743 “Development of Nanomaterial-based Electrochemical Sensor for Detection of Hydrogen Peroxide”.Hydrogen peroxide is essential for biological processes and normally occurs in low concentrations in living organisms. However, exposure of plants to biotic and abiotic stressors can disrupt their defense mechanisms, resulting in oxidative stress with elevated H2O2 levels. This oxidative stress can damage cell membranes, impair photosynthesis, and hinder crucial plant functions. The primary focus of this article is to investigate the effects of salt and herbicide stress factors on the growth of rye samples. For precise quantification of the released H2O2 concentration caused by these stress factors, a non-enzymatic electrochemical sensor was developed, employing nanostructured CuO and Co3O4 oxides. Nanostructured electrodes exhibit high sensitivity and selectivity towards H2O2, making them suitable for detecting H2O2 in real samples with complex compositions. Rye samples exposed to NaCl- and glyphosate-induced stress demonstrated notable concentrations of released H2O2, displaying an increase of up to 30% compared to the control sample. Moreover, optical absorption measurements revealed a substantial decrease in chlorophyll concentration (up to 35% compared to the control group) in rye samples where elevated H2O2 levels were detected through electrochemical methods. These findings provide further evidence of the harmful effects of elevated H2O2 concentrations on plant vital functions. --//-- This is an open-access article Mihailova, I.; Krasovska, M.; Sledevskis, E.; Gerbreders, V.; Mizers, V.; Ogurcovs, A. Assessment of Oxidative Stress by Detection of H2O2 in Rye Samples Using a CuO- and Co3O4-Nanostructure-Based Electrochemical Sensor. Chemosensors 2023, 11, 532. https://doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors11100532 published under the CC BY 4.0 licence.European Regional Development Fund Activity 1.1.1.2, research agreement no. 1.1.1.2/16/I/001, under grant no. 1.1.1.2/VIAA/4/20/743; The Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia at the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART2

Effect of DNA Aptamer Concentration on the Conductivity of a Water-Gated Al:ZnO Thin-Film Transistor-Based Biosensor

This research was supported by State Education Development Agency, Project No. 1.1.1.2/ 16/I/001, Research Proposal No. 1.1.1.2/VIAA/4/20/590 “Portable diagnostic device based on a biosensor array of 2D material sensing elements”.Field-effect transistor-based biosensors (bio-FETs) are promising candidates for the rapid high-sensitivity and high-selectivity sensing of various analytes in healthcare, clinical diagnostics, and the food industry. However, bio-FETs still have several unresolved problems that hinder their technological transfer, such as electrical stability. Therefore, it is important to develop reliable, efficient devices and establish facile electrochemical characterization methods. In this work, we have fabricated a flexible biosensor based on an Al:ZnO thin-film transistor (TFT) gated through an aqueous electrolyte on a polyimide substrate. In addition, we demonstrated techniques for establishing the operating range of such devices. The Al:ZnO-based devices with a channel length/width ratio of 12.35 and a channel thickness of 50 nm were produced at room temperature via magnetron sputtering. These Al:ZnO-based devices exhibited high field-effect mobility (µ = 6.85 cm2/Vs) and threshold voltage (Vth = 654 mV), thus showing promise for application on temperature-sensitive substrates. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to verify the chemical composition of the deposited films, while the morphological aspects of the films were assessed using scanning electron and atomic force microscopies. The gate–channel electric capacitance of 40 nF/cm2 was determined using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, while the electrochemical window of the gate–channel system was determined as 1.8 V (from −0.6 V to +1.2 V) using cyclic voltammetry. A deionized water solution of 10 mer (CCC AAG GTC C) DNA aptamer (molar weight −2972.9 g/mol) in a concentration ranging from 1–1000 pM/µL was used as an analyte. An increase in aptamer concentration caused a proportional decrease in the TFT channel conductivity. The techniques demonstrated in this work can be applied to optimize the operating parameters of various semiconductor materials in order to create a universal detection platform for biosensing applications, such as multi-element FET sensor arrays based on various composition nanostructured films, which use advanced neural network signal processing. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.State Education Development Agency, Project No. 1.1.1.2/ 16/I/001; Research Proposal No. 1.1.1.2/VIAA/4/20/590; Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017 TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART2

A non-enzymatic electrochemical hydrogen peroxide sensor based on copper oxide nanostructures

This work was supported by ERDF project No. 1.1.1.2/16/I/ 001, research application number 1.1.1.2/VIAA/4/20/743 "Development of nanomaterial-based electrochemical sensor for detection of hydrogen peroxide". Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received fund ing from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017 TeamingPhase2 under grant agree ment No. 739508, project CAMART2.This article describes the synthesis of nanostructured copper oxide on copper wires and its application for the detection of hydrogen peroxide. Copper oxide petal nanostructures were obtained by a one-step hydrothermal oxidation method. The resulting coating is uniform and dense and shows good adhesion to the wire surface. Structure, surface, and composition of the obtained samples were studied using field-emission scanning electron microscopy along with energy-dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffractometry. The resulting nanostructured samples were used for electrochemical determination of the H2O2 content in a 0.1 M NaOH buffer solution using cyclic voltammetry, differential pulse voltammetry, and i–t measurements. A good linear relationship between the peak current and the concentration of H2O2 in the range from 10 to 1800 μM was obtained. The sensitivity of the obtained CuO electrode is 439.19 μA·mM−1. The calculated limit of detection is 1.34 μM, assuming a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The investigation of the system for sensitivity to interference showed that the most common interfering substances, that is, ascorbic acid, uric acid, dopamine, NaCl, glucose, and acetaminophen, do not affect the electrochemical response. The real milk sample test showed a high recovery rate (more than 95%). According to the obtained results, this sensor is suitable for practical use for the qualitative detection of H2O2 in real samples, as well as for the quantitative determination of its concentration © 2022 Mihailova et al.; licensee Beilstein-Institut.License and terms: see end of document.ERDF 1.1.1.2/16/I/ 001, 1.1.1.2/VIAA/4/20/743; Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received fund ing from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017 TeamingPhase2 under grant agree ment No. 739508, project CAMART2

ZnO-nanostructure-based electrochemical sensor: Effect of nanostructure morphology on the sensing of heavy metal ions

ZnO nanostructures are promising candidates for use in sensors, especially in electrochemical sensors and biosensors, due to their unique physical and chemical properties, as well as sensitivity and selectivity to several types of contamination, including heavy metal ions. In this work, using the hydrothermal method, nanostructures of ZnO were synthesized in four different morphologies: nanorods, nanoneedles, nanotubes and nanoplates. To determine the peculiarities of adsorption for each morphology, a series of electrochemical measurements were carried out using these nanostructured ZnO coatings on the working electrodes, using aqueous solutions of Pb(NO3)2 and Cd(NO3)2 as analytes with different concentrations. It was found that the sensitivity of the resulting electrochemical sensors depends on the morphology of the ZnO nanostructures: the best results were achieved in the case of porous nanostructures (nanotubes and nanoplates), whereas the lowest sensitivity corresponded to ZnO nanorods with a large diameter (i.e., low surface-to-volume ratio). The efficiency of sedimentation is also related to the electronegativity of adsorbate: it has been shown that all observed ZnO morphologies exhibited significantly higher sensitivity in detecting lead ions compared to cadmium ions

Effects of Fe3O4 Nanoparticle Stress on the Growth and Development of Rocket Eruca sativa

Plants exposed to stress use the variety of gene regulatory mechanisms to achieve cellular homeostasis, including posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression where microRNAs (miRNAs) play a pivotal role. Since various environmental stress factors such as nanoparticles affect crop productivity and quality, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the genotoxicity level and to estimate miRNA expression level and chlorophyll a level in the magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticle-stressed rocket (Eruca sativa Mill.) seedlings grown in hydroponics. Rocket seedlings were exposed to 1 mg/L, 2 mg/L, and 4 mg/L Fe3O4 nanoparticles, and after 5 weeks, seed germination rate, root-shoot elongation, genotoxicity, chlorophyll a, and miRNA expression levels were evaluated. The obtained results indicated that 1 mg/L, 2 mg/L, and 4 mg/L concentrations of Fe3O4 nanoparticles induce low genotoxicity and have a positive effect on the growth and development of rocket seedlings and that nanoparticles may improve the ability of plants to stand against environmental stresses

Genotoxic Evaluation of Fe3O4 Nanoparticles in Different Three Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) Genotypes to Explore the Stress-Resistant Molecules

Sustainable agricultural practices are still essential due to soil degradation and crop losses. Recently, the relationship between plants and nanoparticles (NPs) attracted scientists’ attention, especially for applications in agricultural production as nanonutrition. Therefore, the present research was carried out to investigate the effect of Fe3O4 NPs at low concentrations (0, 1, 10, and 20 mg/L) on three genotypes of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) seedlings grown in hydroponic conditions. Significant increases in seedling growth, enhanced chlorophyll quality and quantity, and two miRNA expression levels were observed. Additionally, increased genotoxicity was observed in seedlings grown with NPs. Generally, Fe3O4 NPs at low concentrations could be successfully used as nanonutrition for increasing barley photosynthetic efficiency with consequently enhanced yield. These results are important for a better understanding of the potential impact of Fe3O4 NPs at low concentrations in agricultural crops and the potential of these NPs as nanonutrition for barley growth and yield enhancement. Future studies are needed to investigate the effect of these NPs on the expression of resistance-related genes and chlorophyll synthesis-related gene expression in treated barley seedlings

The Impact of CdS Nanoparticles on Ploidy and DNA Damage of Rucola (Eruca sativa Mill.) Plants

The genotoxic effect of cadmium sulfide nanoparticles (CdS NPs) of different sizes in rucola (Eruca sativa Mill.) plants was assessed. It was confirmed that nanoparticles < 5 nm in size were more toxic than larger particles at an identical mass concentration. Significant differences in cell ploidy, as well as in the mitotic index, were detected between control and treated samples. Differences in the DNA banding pattern between control samples and samples after treatment with cadmium sulfide nanoparticles were significant and detected at different places as the appearance or elimination of DNA fragments. Fluorescence images showed that cadmium sulfide nanoparticles smaller than 5 nm in size can diffuse through the membrane and their presence affects the genetic system of the plant

ZnO nanostructure-based electrochemical biosensor for Trichinella DNA detection

A DNA electrochemical sensor's construction based on ZnO nanostructured electrodes is described in the article. As object of the study, DNA primers and PCR products of Trichinella britovi and Trichinella spiralis were chosen. The sensors were prepared with different morphologies of ZnO structures on the surfaces of the working electrodes: thin film of zinc oxide, nanorods and nanotubes. Immobilization processes of DNA primers were studied. Differential Pulse Voltammetry was used as a method of measurements of electrochemical characteristics. The measurements have shown an eligible difference of signals for confident distinction of Trichinella britovi and Trichinella spiralis PCR products. Keywords: DNA electrochemical sensor, ZnO nanostructures, Trichinella, DNA hybridization, DP