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We prepare disposable single-walled carbon nanotube network electrodes for the detection of the potent opioid fentanyl, currently a leading cause for opioid overdose deaths in the USA. We show repeatable dry transfer of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) networks to produce robust electrodes. This process directly produces highly conductive SWCNT electrodes without the need for any further modifications required for conventional carbon electrodes. The realized electrode showed low background currents combined with spontaneous enrichment of fentanyl, resulting in a high signal-to-noise ratio. With this electrode, a detection limit of 11 nM and a linear range of 0.01−1 μM were found for fentanyl. In addition, selectivity is demonstrated in the presence of several common interferents.

A disposable electrochemical test strip for the quantitative point-of-care (POC) determination of acetaminophen (paracetamol) in plasma and finger-prick whole blood was fabricated. The industrially scalable dry transfer process of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and screen printing of silver were combined to produce integrated electrochemical test strips. Nafion coating stabilized the potential of the Ag reference electrode and enabled the selective detection in spiked plasma as well as in whole blood samples. The test strips were able to detect acetaminophen in small 40 μL samples with a detection limit of 0.8 μM and a wide linear range from 1 μM to 2 mM, well within the required clinical range. After a simple 1:1 dilution of plasma and whole blood, a quantitative detection with good recoveries of 79% in plasma and 74% in whole blood was achieved. These results strongly indicate that these electrodes can be used directly to determine the unbound acetaminophen fraction without the need for any additional steps. The developed test strip shows promise as a rapid and simple POC quantitative acetaminophen assay.

Oxycodone is a strong opioid frequently used as an analgesic. Although proven efficacious in the management of moderate to severe acute pain and cancer pain, use of oxycodone imposes a risk of adverse effects such as addiction, overdose, and death. Fast and accurate determination of oxycodone blood concentration would enable personalized dosing and monitoring of the analgesic as well as quick diagnostics of possible overdose in emergency care. However, in addition to the parent drug, several metabolites are always present in the blood after a dose of oxycodone, and to date, there is no electrochemical data available on any of these metabolites. In this paper, a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) electrode and a Nafion-coated SWCNT electrode were used, for the first time, to study the electrochemical behavior of oxycodone and its two main metabolites, noroxycodone and oxymorphone. Both electrode types could selectively detect oxycodone in the presence of noroxycodone and oxymorphone. However, we have previously shown that addition of a Nafion coating on top of the SWCNT electrode is essential for direct measurements in complex biological matrices. Thus, the Nafion/SWCNT electrode was further characterized and used for measuring clinically relevant concentrations of oxycodone in buffer solution. The limit of detection for oxycodone with the Nafion/SWCNT sensor was 85 nM, and the linear range was 0.5–10 μM in buffer solution. This study shows that the fabricated Nafion/SWCNT sensor has potential to be applied in clinical concentration measurements.

Three dimensional hierarchical materials are widespread in nature but are difficult to synthesize by using self-assembly/organization. Here, we employ a gel-liquid interface to obtain centimeter-long ∼100 μm diameter tubes with complex mineral wall structures that grow from the interface into solution. The gel, made from gelatin, is loaded with metal chloride salt, whereas the solution is a high pH anion source. Tubes were obtained with a range of cations (Ca(2+) , Sr(2+) , Ba(2+) , Cu(2+) , and Zn(2+) ) and anions (CO3 (2-) and PO4 (3-) ). The crystalline phases found in the tube walls corresponded to expectations from solution chemistries and phase solubilities. The growth mechanism is found to be akin to that of chemical gardens. The divalent cations modify the strength of the gelatin gel in a manner that involves not only simple electrostatic screening, but also ion-specific effects. Thus, tubes were not obtained for those ions and/or concentrations that significantly changed the gel's mechanical structure. At high Cu(2+) loading, for example, vertical convection bands, not Liesegang bands, were observed in the gels.