Mass transport effect of mesoscopic domains in the amperometric response of an electroactive species: Modeling for its applications in biomolecule detection

Abstract

We report the numerical simulation of an electrochemical system compromising a mesoporous material placed at a close distance of a working electrode. The effect of mesoscopic domains to the amperometric response of an electroactive species by applying a cyclic voltammetry is simulated to establish the influence of different parameters on the sensitivity of this system to detect molecules able to block the pores. Alumina membranes were chosen as mesoporous material; they were modified with anti-horseradish peroxidase as model system to test the behavior predicted by the simulation. The label-free assembled electrochemical system shows a reproducible behavior and it is able to detect a 10 nM protein concentration. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.