Reusability of a single-walled carbon nanotube-based biosensor for detecting peanut allergens and Y. enterocolitica

Biosensing systems based on electrochemical detection is popular to the industrial community, because the electronic readout from biosensor assays could replace conventional microarray methods. However, the greatest practical barrier to a wider acceptance of biosensors within the industrial field is due to their associated manufacturing and operating costs. In this study, a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT)-based biosensor was tested for reusability after cleaning. The reusability of the existing biosensing system was examined using diverse cleaning reagents. Successful sensor cleaning without affecting their reusable properties was confirmed using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution. A range of NaOH concentrations between 70 and 160 mM was tested and the optimum reusable concentration for the biosensor was determined as 100 mM. A 5-time-reuse of the biosensor was achieved using 100 mM NaOH solution for peanut allergen control. Furthermore, re-adding anti-Yersinia antibodies to the biosensor led to the reaction of bacterial cells of Yersinia enterocolitica with the potential biosensor response. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results showed that microorganisms (Y. enterocolitica) and peanut allergen (Ara h1) were washed away from the biosensor chip after washing using NaOH (100 mM) for 2 h.