The attachment of biotin to nanotube modified electrodes by formation of pi-stacking interactions using a blotinylated pyrene derivative is reported The specific anchoring of biological macromolecules via avidin bridges was investigated using biotinylated glucose oxidase (GOX-B) as model enzyme Further studies focus the possibility of the electropolymerization of pyrene derivatives Four types of biotin-SWCNT modified electrodes were investigated (1) deposits of biotin-pyrene functionalized nanotubes (B-SWCNTs) (2) deposits of regular nanotubes functionalized by incubation in a biotin-pyrene solution (3) the latter configuration and subsequent electropolymerization of the adsorbed biotin-pyrene and (4) deposits of regular nanotubes subsequently modified by electropolymerization of a pyrene-biotin monomer (2 mM) The nanotubes deposits were characterized by SEM imaging and the electropolymerization of the pyrene derivatives were investigated using cyclic voltammetry These types of biotin-SWCNT modified electrodes were tested due to their capacity to immobilize biotinylated biomolecules (GOX-B) via avidin bridges and their performances in glucose detection were examined using amperometry The best configuration (3) was obtained with SWCNT coatings modified by specific adsorption and electropolymerization of biotin-pyrene A maximum current density of 584 mu A cm(-2) could be realized with a sensitivity of 37 mA M-1 cm(-2) for a linear range between 5 mu M and 13 mM (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved