Student Presenter: Abdur-Rehman Hussain and Jeleeta Jolly
Faculty Mentor: Jacqueline Keighron
School/College: Arts and Sciences, Old Westbury

Interactions with gold nanoparticles have been shown to enhance the activity of enzymes such as glucose oxidase (GOx) due to the stabilizing effects of the highly curved surface. The enhanced enzyme activity of glucose oxidase can be applied to the area of biosensors. Glucose oxidase here is used as a low-cost model comparison to glutamate oxidase. By measuring the activity of glucose oxidase gold nanoparticle conjugates, we were able to optimize the interaction between enzyme and nanoparticle to enhance the design and function of enzymatic biosensors for glutamate, an important neurotransmitter. Overall, our results indicate that when glucose oxidase is adsorbed to highly curved nanoparticles in a single, densely packed layer, its activity is enhanced over that of enzyme free in solution.