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The development of an electrochemical aptasensor for the detection of CA125 as an ovarian cancer biomarker using gold nanostructures (GNs) modified electrodes is reported. The GNs were deposited on the surface of fluorine-doped tin oxide electrodes using a simple electrochemical method and the effects of pH and surfactant concentration on the topography and electrochemical properties of the resulting GNs modified electrodes were investigated. The electrodes were characterized using field-emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, cyclic voltammetry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The best electrode, in terms of the uniformity of the deposited GNs and the increase in electroactive surface area, was used for development of an aptasensor for CA125 tumor marker detection in human serum. Signal amplification was done by using aptamer-conjugated gold nanorods resulting in the detection limit of 2.6 U/ml and a linear range of 10 to 800 U/ml. The results showed that without the need for expensive antibodies, the developed aptasensor could specifically measure the clinically relevant concentrations of the tumor marker in human serum., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature.)

A bimetallic nanostructure of Co/Cu for the non-enzymatic determination of glucose is presented. The heterostructure includes cobalt thin film on a porous array of Cu nanocolumns. Glancing angle deposition (GLAD) method was used to grow Cu nanocolumns directly on a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate. Then a thin film of cobalt was electrodeposited on the Cu nanostructures. Various characterization studies were performed in order to define the optimum nanostructure for the determination of glucose. The results showed remarkable boosting of the electrocatalytic activity of Co/Cu bimetallic structure compare to the responses achieved by the monometallic structures of Co or Cu. The sensor showed two linear response ranges for the determination of glucose at 0.55 V in 0.1 M NaOH, from 5 μM-1 mM and 2-9 mM. The sensitivity was 1741 (μA mM -1  cm -2 ) and 626 (μA mM -1  cm -2 ), respectively, while the detection limit for a signal-to-noise ratio of 3 was found to be 0.4 μM. The sensor exhibited excellent selectivity and was successfully applied to the determination of glucose in real human blood serum samples. Graphical Abstract Schematic representation of fabrication process of the glucose sensor of Co (Cobalt)/Cu (Copper) on Fluorine doped Tin Oxide (FTO). The current voltage plots show higher electrooxidation activity of the bimetallic nanostructure of Co/Cu/FTO relative to the bare Co/FTO.