Fabrication of cobalt ferrite/cobalt sulfide hybrid nanotubes with enhanced peroxidase-like activity for colorimetric detection of dopamine

The development of highly sensitive and low-cost biosensors for the detection of dopamine is of paramount importance for medical diagnostics. Herein, we report the preparation of a new peroxidase-like catalyst with a uniform heterostructure by using a technique involving electrospinning, annealing and solvothermal reaction. In this catalyst system, cobalt sulfide (CoS) nanoparticles were homogenously distributed and supported on the surface of cobalt ferrite (CoFe 2 O 4 ) nanotubes. The as-prepared CoFe 2 O 4 /CoS hybrid nanotubes showed remarkably high catalytic efficiency as peroxidase mimics toward the oxidation of 3,3,5,5-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) in the presence of H 2 O 2 . Owing to the synergistic effect between the CoFe 2 O 4 and CoS component, the prepared CoFe 2 O 4 /CoS hybrid nanotubes exhibited enhanced peroxidase-like activity, exceeding that of either the CoS nanoparticles or CoFe 2 O 4 nanotubes alone. Dopamine has been widely investigated due to its unique function in the nervous system. Consequently, various approaches have been developed for the sensitive determination of dopamine. In this work, a simple and sensitive colorimetric route for the detection of dopamine was established based on the ability of dopamine to induce the reduction of oxidized TMB to TMB with consequent fading of the blue color. This method shows a wide linear range (0–50   μM) and a low detection limit of 0.58   μM. The unique heterostructure with spinel/sulfide interfaces represents a new concept for the construction of highly efficient and multifunctional biocatalysts.