Fabrication of flexible glucose sensor based on heterostructure ZnO nanosheets decorated PU/Chitosan-PANI hybrid nanofiber

Designing and fabrication of immensely accurate, affordable, sensitive, and portable glucose sensors is rapidly increasing in clinical applications. However, commercialization of wearable sensors has been impeded by inadequate conductivity, insufficient durability, poor flexibility, and enzyme immobilization. Herein, a scalable approach for fabricating a nanofiber-based highly electroactive, flexible, and disposable (PUC-PANI-ZnO@GOx) sensor that can assess glucose stimuli with sufficient liquid permeability by anchoring ZnO nanosheets over polyaniline (PANI) coated polyurethane-chitosan (PU-Chitosan; PUC) fibrous mat followed by glucose oxidase (GOx) immobilization is described. Regarding the electrocatalytic performance, PUC-PANI-ZnO@GOx sensor showed a high sensitivity (∼998.72 µA mM⁻¹ cm⁻²) and a low detection limit (∼7.31 µM) for a broad linear range of 0.01 – 9.48 mM with acceptable stability and reproducibility. The fabricated sensor was highly selective towards glucose in the presence of exogenous and endogenous interfering species. To the best of our knowledge, this novel polymer-based nanocomposite adorned on nanofiber substrate was utilized for the first time for the fabrication of a flexible glucose sensor. It can be used for producing a large-scale, cost-effective, and high-performing sensor. Hence, this sustainable and eco-friendly approach can lead to new techniques for designing next-generation wearable and implantable glucose sensors.