Logo image
Selective Adsorption of Trace Biomolecules by Amino Acid-Functionalized Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Selective Adsorption of Trace Biomolecules by Amino Acid-Functionalized Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene

Hossein Vojoudi, Vahid Rad and Masoud Soroush
Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany), v 22(1), e09635
Jan 2026
PMID: 41259600

Abstract

Amino Acids - chemistry Dopamine - chemistry Nanostructures - chemistry Nitrites Titanium - chemistry Transition Elements Adsorption Thermodynamics
Accurate detection and enrichment of trace-level biomolecules are essential for early disease diagnosis, environmental monitoring, and biotechnological research. However, conventional adsorbents often lack the sensitivity and selectivity required at ultralow analyte concentrations. Here, a systematic study is conducted on dopamine adsorption on amino-acid-surface-modified Ti C T MXene nanosheets covalently grafted onto glass wool via silane linkers. Comprehensive characterization confirms the stability of the MXene lattice and successful functionalization. Continuous-flow columns packed with amino acid-MXene-coated glass wool are fabricated, enabling preconcentration and recovery from real samples. Adsorption follows the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetics, indicative of chemisorption. Thermodynamic analysis (ΔG⁰ < 0, ΔH⁰ > 0, ΔS⁰ > 0) reveals a spontaneous, endothermic process accompanied by increased interfacial disorder. Among the tested modifiers, the cystine-modified MXene exhibits nearly complete uptake (10 ppm analyte) through synergistic effects of electrostatic attraction, hydrogen bonding, and thiol-catechol interactions. Under optimized conditions, >99% desorption is achieved using ultrasonic-assisted ethanol-acetic acid elution, with stable performance over ten adsorption-desorption cycles. Compared with activated carbon and silica gel, the amino acid-MXene adsorbents demonstrate markedly superior capacity, selectivity, and cycling stability, establishing a versatile platform for trace biomolecule capture and enrichment.

Metrics

Details

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being

InCites Highlights

Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:

Web of Science research areas
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Chemistry, Physical
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Physics, Applied
Physics, Condensed Matter
Logo image