Single‐Component Electroactive Polymer Architectures for Non‐Enzymatic Glucose Sensing

Abstract

AbstractOrganic mixed ionic‐electronic conductors (OMIECs) have emerged as promising materials for biological sensing, owing to their electrochemical activity, stability in an aqueous environment, and biocompatibility. Yet, OMIEC‐based sensors rely predominantly on the use of composite matrices to enable stimuli‐responsive functionality, which can exhibit issues with intercomponent interfacing. In this study, an approach is presented for non‐enzymatic glucose detection by harnessing a newly synthesized functionalized monomer, EDOT‐PBA. This monomer integrates electrically conducting and receptor moieties within a single organic component, obviating the need for complex composite preparation. By engineering the conditions for electrodeposition, two distinct polymer film architectures are developed: pristine PEDOT‐PBA and molecularly imprinted PEDOT‐PBA. Both architectures demonstrated proficient glucose binding and signal transduction capabilities. Notably, the molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) architecture demonstrated faster stabilization upon glucose uptake while it also enabled a lower limit of detection, lower standard deviation, and a broader linear range in the sensor output signal compared to its non‐imprinted counterpart. This material design not only provides a robust and efficient platform for glucose detection but also offers a blueprint for developing selective sensors for a diverse array of target molecules, by tuning the receptor units correspondingly.