MoS2-WS2 decorated carbon nanotubes amplified electro-nanosensor for label-free voltammetric detection of DNA

Abstract

The development of functional interfaces for healthcare applications is in great demand to perform sensitive and reliable testing. For this purpose, in the present study, the use of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) combined with carbon nanotubes modified pencil graphite electrode (PGE) was demonstrated for fish sperm double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (fsDNA) detection. The advanced system consisted of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), tungsten disulfide (WS2), and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), which exhibited superior and fascinating electrochemical properties on PGE as a result of synergetic effect occurred between the materials. The MoS2-WS2-MWCNTs incorporated PGE (MoS2-WS2-MWCNTs/E) was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and electrochemical techniques. The elemental composition of the sensing platform was monitored with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Specific parameters, including the amount of components in the hybrid material were optimized. MoS2-WS2-MWCNTs/E presented a good linear range for fsDNA between 0.1 and 50mgL−1 with a low detection limit of 0.05 mg L−1 by using the differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) technique. The detection performance of the resulting electrode was compared with the responses of MoS2-MWCNTs/E and WS2-MWCNTs/E as well. This sensing platform establishes the use of dichalcogenides-carbon nanotubes-based material for facile, sensitive, and reproducible sensing applications.