Non-enzymatic and non-invasive glucose detection using Au nanoparticle decorated CuO nanorods

Non-enzymatic electrochemical glucose sensors have been fabricated using hydrothermally grown CuO nanorods on fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrates. The sensing performance has been increased by several times after attaching Au nanoparticles with CuO nanorods. The formation of CuO nanorods and attachment of Au nanoparticles were confirmed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) study. The Au decorated CuO nanorod electrodes demonstrated glucose sensitivity of 2009 μAmM-1 cm-2, in the linear detection range 5 μM to 1.325 mM, with detection limit of 0.17 μM. Such Au decorated sensing electrodes are highly selective and exhibited long-term stability. Non-invasive glucose detection has been demonstrated using human saliva samples. The sensitivity of the sensor for salivary glucose detection was found to be 1740 μAmM-1 cm-2. Our present study demonstrated the promising use of Au decorated CuO NR electrodes for low cost, non-enzymatic, non-invasive diabetes monitoring application.