Anionic polythiophene derivative as peroxidase mimetics and their application for detection of hydrogen peroxide and glucose

In this paper, we discovered that the anionic polythiophenes derivative, poly[2-(3-thienyl)ethyloxy-4-butylsulfonate] (PTEBS), possesses intrinsic peroxidase-like activity that can catalyze the reaction of peroxidase substrate 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) in the presence of H2O2 to produce a blue color reaction, which provides colorimetric detection of H2O2. PTEBS exhibits several advantages such as high catalytic efficiency, good stability, and rapid response over horseradish peroxidase (HRP). By coupling the oxidation of glucose catalyzed by glucose oxidase, a simple, inexpensive, highly sensitive and selective colorimetric method for glucose detection has been developed. The absorbance was proportional to the concentration of glucose in the range from 0.01 to 0.5 mM with a detection limit of 0.004 mM. This work is not only of importance for a better understanding of the unique properties of polythiophenes derivative but also of great potential for medical diagnostics and biotechnology.