In situ SANS / Electrochemical Study of Redox Active 3D Bicontinuous Nanomaterials for Biosensors

This proposal investigates materials we have developed to immobilise redox-active enzymes, based on 3D nanomaterials known as lipid cubic phases (LCP). We incorporate an electroactive amphiphilic redox shuttle that can diffuse within the lipid matrix between the electrode and the enzyme. These materials can be easily applied to an electrode surface, for applications in electrochemical biosensing. They currently suffer from problems in loss of activity with repeated cycling. In order to understand and overcome these problems, we require real-time SANS data during electrochemical cycling, with and without contrast-matching of the majority lipid component. The data will show the behaviour and segregation of the electroactive surfactant, to test different hypotheses for the mechanism underlying the degradation in performance, and therefore show strategies for molecular design to overcome it.