Eggshell membrane-templated synthesis of 3D hierarchical porous Au networks for electrochemical nonenzymatic glucose sensor

Abstract Sensitive and accurate test of blood glucose levels is necessary to monitor and prevent diabetic complications. Herein, we developed a novel and sensitive non-enzymatic glucose sensing platform by employing 3D hierarchical porous Au networks (HPANs) as electrocatalyst for glucose oxidization. The HPANs were prepared through a bio-inspired synthesis method, in which the natural eggshell membrane (ESM) was introduced as template. The structure and properties of the as-prepared HPANs were characterized by a set of techniques, including scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The HPANs showed high catalytic activity towards glucose oxidization due to the unique structure. Inspiringly, the HPANs-based electrochemical glucose sensor could be driven at low potential (+0.1 V) and showed an outstanding performance for glucose determination with two linear ranges of 1–500 μM and 4.0–12 mM, a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.2 μM (3σ), and fast response time (less than 2 s). Moreover, the stability and anti-interference performance of developed sensor was also excellent, enabling its preliminary application in clinical sample (human serum) test. Significantly, this work offered an environmentally friendly method for fabricating 3D nanostructure by using ESM (a biowaste) as template, setting up a typical example for producing new value-added nanomaterials with sensing application.