Polyethyleneimine-Stabilized Platinum Nanoparticles as Peroxidase Mimic for Colorimetric Detection of Glucose

Colorimetric detection of glucose using enzyme-mimic nanoparticles (NPs) has been drawing great attention. However, many NPs lack good stability in solution, which results in reduced color change of substrates in colorimetric detection. Liner soluble macromolecules with high cationic density may be suitable candidates for the stabilization of NPs. Herein, we prepared polyethyleneimine-stabilized platinum NPs (Pt_n-PEI NPs) for colorimetric detection of glucose. The platinum NPs (Pt NPs) used in this system had small size (from 3.21 to 3.70 nm) and narrow size distribution. Pt₅₀-PEI NPs had high stability within one week with a hydrodynamic size of ∼25 nm and slightly positive zeta potential. Pt₅₀-PEI NPs-catalyzed oxidation of 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) in the presence of H₂O₂, generating blue oxidized TMB (oxTMB), which indicated the peroxidase-like property of Pt₅₀-PEI NPs. The optimal condition for this reaction was pH = 4.0 at 30 °C. More importantly, Pt₅₀-PEI NPs were successfully used to detect glucose concentration by a colorimetric method with high selectivity. The established method had a linear concentration range from 10 to 5000 μM with a detection limit of 4.2 μM. For example, the concentration of glucose in saliva was tested to be 0.15 mM using our method. The high stability of Pt₅₀-PEI NPs enhanced the high accessibility of the active center of Pt NPs for substrates and consequent excellent catalytic property. This established method has great potential to be used in various applications for glucose detection in the future.