Characterization of an electrochemical mercury sensor using alternating current,cyclic, square wave and differential pulse voltammetry

Here we report the characterization of an electrochemical mercury (Hg²⁺) sensor constructed with a methylene blue (MB)-modified and thymine-containing linear DNA probe. Similar to the linear probe electrochemical DNA sensor, the resultant sensor behaved as a “signal-off” sensor in alternating current voltammetry and cyclic voltammetry. However, depending on the applied frequency or pulse width, the sensor can behave as either a “signal-off” or “signal-on” sensor in square wave voltammetry (SWV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). In SWV, the sensor showed “signal-on” behavior at low frequencies and “signal-off” behavior at high frequencies. In DPV, the sensor showed “signal-off” behavior at short pulse widths and “signal-on” behavior at long pulse widths. Independent of the sensor interrogation technique, the limit of detection was found to be 10 nM, with a linear dynamic range between 10 nM and 500 nM. In addition, the sensor responded to Hg²⁺ rather rapidly; majority of the signal change occurred in <20 min. Overall, the sensor retains all the characteristics of this class of sensors; it is reagentless, reusable, sensitive, specific and selective. This study also highlights the feasibility of using a MB-modified probe for real-time sensing of Hg²⁺, which has not been previously reported. More importantly, the observed “switching” behavior in SWV and DPV is potentially generalizable and should be applicable to most sensors in this class of dynamics-based electrochemical biosensors.     

Binding constants of lead by humic and fulvic acids studied by anodic stripping square wave voltammetry

A better understanding of metal ion binding to soil organic substances is of fundamental importance in geochemical modeling of environments. Fulvic acids (FA) and humic acids (HA) make up an important part of soil organic matter, and their binding capacity affects the fate of metal ions and plays an important role in their mobility. Binding constants of Pb(II) to HA and FA were evaluated by anodic stripping square wave voltammetry (ASSWV) where the binding reaction was performed at pH 4.5 in a medium of 0.020 mol l⁻¹ KNO₃. Results showed that ASSWV technique was well suited for the estimation of the binding capacity of a natural organic matter towards heavy metals. Based on the voltammetric titration curves, binding constants of Pb(II) complexes formed with HA and FA were 0.78 × 10⁶ and 0.15 × 10⁶ mol⁻¹ l, which indicated that complex of Pb²⁺ with HA was more stable than with FA. The average molecular weight of HA and FA prepared from soil samples were also found to be 1821 g mol⁻¹ and 805 g mol⁻¹, respectively.     

Facilitated ion transfer of protonated primary organic amines studied by square wave voltammetry and chronoamperometry

The transfer of the protonated forms of heptylamine, octylamine, decylamine, procaine and procainamide facilitated by dibenzo-18-crown-6 from water to a solvent polymeric membrane has been investigated by using cyclic square wave voltammetry. The experimental voltammograms obtained are in good agreement with theoretical predictions. The values of the standard ion transfer potential, complexation constant and diffusion coefficient in water have been obtained from these experiments, and have been used to draw some conclusions about the lipophilicity of these species and the relative stability of the organic ammonium complexes with dibenzo-18-crown-6. The results have been compared with those provided by linear sweep voltammetry. Calibration graphs were obtained with both techniques. An interesting chronoamperometric method for the determination of the diffusion coefficient of the target ion in the membrane has been developed and applied to all these protonated amines.     

Determination of abscisic acid by cathodic stripping square wave voltammetry

In this paper a study is accomplished on behavior in a mercury electrode, of the phytohormone abscisic acid and of the conditions of accumulation in a HMDE. A mechanism is proposed of reduction based on its electrochemical behavior and proving the product of the reduction through mass spectrometry of bulks. A method is proposed for the determination of Abscisic acid (ABA) with a quantification limit of 58 ng ml(-1). The procedure is applied wing determination of ABA in pears through the combination of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with electrochemical quantification.     

Determination of ziram in vegetable samples by square wave voltammetry

The electrochemical behaviour and electrode reaction mechanism of ziram （zinc-dimethyl dithiocarbamate） on a hanging mercury drop electrode were investigated in Britton-Robinson （B-R） buffer by using cyclic and square wave voltammetry （SWV）. Based on these studies a voltammetric method for determination of ziram wasdeveloped and applied to determine the ziram in synthetic and spiked vegetable samples, satisfactory results were obtained in both cases.     

Electrochemical behaviour and determination of rimsulfuron herbicide by square wave voltammetry

The voltammeric behaviour of rimsulfuron herbicide has been studied by square wave stripping voltammetry on static hanging mercury drop electrode. It exhibited a well-defined peak within the pH range of 1.0–6.0, having a maximum peak response at ?600 mV (vs.Ag/AgCl) at pH 3.0. The factors such as accumulation potential (E_acc), accumulation time (t_acc), frequency (f), pulse amplitude (ΔE) and step potential (ΔE_s) have been optimised. The calibration plot was a straight line in the range of 4.4–134.4 μg L^?1 with a detection limit of 1.3 μg L^?1. The validity of the method was assessed from the recoveries of spiked lake water, tomato juice and agrochemical formulation of Doncep^®. The results of the experiments conducted for five recoveries were 48.8 ± 1.7 and 49.7 ± 1.0 μg L^?1, which are very close to the rimsulfuron spiked to lake water and tomato juice (50 μg L^?1), with a relative error of –2.4% and ?0.6%, respectively. The electrode reaction mechanism was also postulated.     

Determination of hydrazine in polyvinylpyrrolidone by derivatization and square wave voltammetry

A rapid and precise method has been developed for the determination of hydrazine in polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). Hydrazine is converted to salicylaldazine by reaction with salicylaldehyde. After extraction, the azine is reduced at –1.56 V versus the SCE at the hanging drop electrode. Detection is accomplished using square wave voltammetry and comparison to an external salicylaldazine standard. The described procedure can detect as little as 70 ng/g hydrazine in PVP.     

An optimized digestion method coupled to electrochemical sensor for the determination of Cd, Cu, Pb and Hg in fish by square wave anodic stripping voltammetry

An optimized digestion method coupled to electrochemical detection to monitor lead, copper, cadmium and mercury in fish tissues was developed. Square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV) coupled to disposable screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) was employed as fast and sensitive electroanalytical method for heavy metals detection. Different approaches in digestion protocols were assessed. The study was focused on Atlantic hake fillets because of their wide diffusion in the human nutrition. Best results were obtained by digesting fish tissue with hydrogen peroxide/hydrochloric acid mixture coupled to solid phase (SP) purification of the digested material. This combined treatment allowed quantitative extraction from fish tissue (muscle) of the target analytes, with fast execution times, high sensitivity and avoiding organic residues eventually affecting electrochemical measurements. Finally, the method has been validated with reference standard materials such as dogfish muscle (DORM-2) and mussel tissues (NIST 2977).     

Anodic stripping voltammetry of sulphide at a nickel film: towards the development of a reagentless sensor

The determination of sulphide at an electrochemically generated nickel oxide layer at glassy carbon and screen-printed electrodes in acidic media has been examined and appraised. The NiO layer was found to produce a stripping-like signal to sulphide and gave a linear peak current response from 20 to 90 μM. The response was further enhanced by repetitive cycling allowing accumulation of nickel sulphide at the electrode surface such that lower micromolar levels of sulphide (i.e. 5 μM) can be determined. The response at the NiO layer to sulphide is shown to be reproducible over a period of 24 h, thereby offering the development of a disposable amperometric sensor for sulphide.     

Determination of traces of hemoglobin by square wave stripping voltammetry at a silver microelectrode

An electrochemical method was developed for the determination of traces of hemoglobin (Hb) by adsorption square wave voltammetric stripping at a bare silver microelectrode. Under optimum conditions the proposed method provided a linear response over the hemoglobin concentration range 5 to 100 nmol/L. The detection limit was 3 nmol/L. The relative standard deviation was 4.5% for 6 successive determinations at 50 nmol/L Hb. Other chemicals present in the sample did not interfere.     

Silicate electrochemical measurements in seawater: Chemical and analytical aspects towards a reagentless sensor

From the study of molybdenum oxidation in aqueous solutions we developed a semi-autonomous method to detect silicate in aqueous samples. Molybdenum oxidation was used to form molybdate in acidic media. The silicomolybdic complex formed with silicate is detectable by amperometry or cyclic voltammetry. The new electrochemical method is in good agreement with the method conventionally used for environmental water silicate analysis. In the second stage, a completely reagentless method was developed using molybdate and proton produced during molybdenum oxidation. Reproducibility tests show a precision of 2.6% for a concentration of 100 μmol L⁻¹. This new method will be very suitable for the development of new autonomous silicate sensors easy to handle and without reagents. In this paper we present the analytical and chemical aspects necessary for a complete documentation of the method before the development of a new reagentless sensor.     

Study and determination of the pesticide Imidacloprid by square wave adsorptive stripping voltammetry

The kinetics of the reaction between double stranded DNA (dsDNA) and formamide is monitored at the single DNA molecule level. We find that stretching of the DNA leads to an accelerated reaction rate and to a shift in the final equilibrium concentrations. The larger the stretching force, the faster the reaction and the larger the denatured fraction of the product DNA. The single molecule kinetics is obtained from the change in the contour length of the DNA which, in turn, is measured using optical tweezers on a microbead-single DNA molecule-cover slip construct.     

The determination of hydrogen peroxide in aqueous solutions by square wave voltammetry

Hydrogen peroxide in aqueous solutions can be determined directly by square wave voltammetry. The method is applicable to samples with a large range of pH in matrices ranging from distilled de-ionized water to sea-water. Its dynamic range extends from 0.5 to at least 1000 microM and the precision is about +/-6% at 2.5 microM and +/-2% at 215 microM. In comparison to DC and differential pulse polarography, by using square wave voltammetry the scan time is reduced from minutes to a fraction of a second, the sensitivity is increased by several-fold and the dynamic range has been greatly expanded at both the lower and the upper end by at least an order of magnitude. The low detection limit allows this method to be applied to the determination of H(2)O(2) in some samples of rainwater.     

Determination of ketorolac in human serum by square wave adsorptive stripping voltammetry

The adsorption behavior of ketorolac on a hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) was explored by square-wave and cyclic voltammetry. The square wave voltammetric response of ketorolac depends on the parameters of the square wave voltammetry excitation signal as well as on the pH of the medium and the accumulation time. The drug was accumulated at HMDE and a well-defined peak was obtained at -1.41 V versus. Ag/AgCl (saturated KCl) in acetate buffer of pH 5.0. A square-wave adsorptive stripping voltammetric method for the quantitative determination of ketorolac was developed. The linear concentration range was 1x10(-10)-1x10(-8) when using 300 s accumulation at -0.8 V. The detection limit of ketorolac was 1.0x10 (-11)M . The precision was excellent with relative standard deviation of 3.85% at concentration of 5x10 (-8)M after 60 s accumulation time. Applicability to serum samples was illustrated. A detection limit of 14 ng per ml of serum was obtained.     

Electrochemical behavior of DNA at a silver electrode studied by cyclic and elimination voltammetry

Electrochemical characteristics of native and denatured calf thymus DNA have been studied by voltammetry on a silver electrode (AgE). Experimental results obtained from linear sweep or cyclic voltammetry (LSV or CV) have been employed in elimination voltammetry. The elimination voltammetry with linear scan (EVLS), using the linear combination of the total currents measured at different scan rates, enables one or two selected particular currents to be eliminated. The best results have been obtained by using a function eliminating the kinetic and charging currents (I(k),I(c)), and conserving the diffusion current (I(d)). This function makes it possible to increase significantly voltammetric signals of native and denatured DNAs, and to reveal processes not detectable by conventional electrochemical methods. The influence of electrochemical pretreatment of silver electrode surfaces and of starting and switching potentials on DNA voltammetric signals have been discussed. Silver electrodes coupled with elimination voltammetry represent promising tools for developing new nucleic acids biosensors.     

Determination of total inorganic iodine in seawater by cathodic stripping square wave voltammetry

A method has been designed for the reduction of iodate to iodide in seawater and subsequent determination of total dissolved iodine as iodide by cathodic stripping square wave voltammetry. The pH of the sample is lowered to about 1-2 and iodate is reduced to iodide with sodium sulfite under this acidic condition. The pH of the sample is then raised to 8-9 before the concentration of iodide is measured.     

Determination of metallothionein in Daphnia magna by modified square wave cathodic stripping voltammetry

Metallothioneins (MTs) are widely used as biomarkers in environmental studies. However, eliminating interfering factors for MT determination in vivo by electrochemical detection is difficult. In this study, NO₃⁻ and Cl⁻ were found to negatively affect MT determination in Daphnia magna by square wave cathodic stripping voltammetry (SWCSV). The relevant mechanism was analyzed, and results were used to modify the original electrochemical testing parameters and environmental conditions. This modified SWCSV achieved accurate MT concentrations in D. magna, leading to detection limits as low as picomolar levels.     

Comparison of the stem-loop and linear probe-based electrochemical DNA sensors by alternating current voltammetry and cyclic voltammetry

Here we systematically characterized the sensor performance of the stem-loop probe (SLP) and linear probe (LP) electrochemical DNA sensors using alternating current voltammetry (ACV) and cyclic voltammetry (CV), with the goal of generating the set of operational criteria that best suits each sensor architecture, in addition to elucidating the signaling mechanism behind these sensors. Although the LP sensor shows slightly better % signal suppression (SS) upon hybridization with the perfect match target at 10 Hz, our frequency-dependent study suggests that it shows optimal % SS only in a very limited AC frequency range. Similar results are observed in CV studies in which the LP sensor, when compared to the SLP sensor, displays a narrower range of voltammetric scan rates where the optimal % SS can be achieved. More importantly, the difference between the two sensors' performance is particularly pronounced if the change in integrated charge (Q) upon target hybridization, rather than the peak current (I), is measured in CV. The temperature-dependent study further highlights the differences between the two sensors, where the LP sensor, owing to the flexible linear probe architecture, is more readily perturbed by temperature changes. Both SLP and LP sensors, however, show a loss of % SS when operated at elevated temperatures, despite the significant improvement in the hybridization kinetics. In conjunction with the ACV, CV, and temperature-dependent studies, the electron-transfer kinetics study provides further evidence in support of the proposed signaling mechanism of these two sensors, in which the SLP sensor's signaling efficiency and sensor performance is directly linked to the hybridization-induced conformational change in the redox-labeled probe, whereas the performance of the LP sensor relies on the hybridization-induced change in probe dynamics.     

Investigation of electrochemical behavior and development of a validated adsorptive stripping square wave voltammetry method for 3-nitrotyrosine in human plasma and cerebrospinal fluid

An adsorptive stripping square wave voltammetric (AdSqW) method was developed for the determination of 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT), a biomarker of in vivo oxidative damage in Alzheimer, ALS, Parkinson’s, cardiovascular diseases and cancer, in some biological fluids. Voltammetric measurements were performed in 0.30 M (pH 9.0) phosphate solution as supporting electrolyte, a reduction peak was observed at–0.487 V (vs. Ag/AgCl–3 M KCl) with a hanging mercury drop electrode by square wave voltammetry. Cyclic voltammetric measurements showed that the current was adsorption-controlled. LOD and LOQ values were as 0.25 and 1.5 nM, respectively, for the AdSqW method. 3-NT was determined in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid using AdSqW method, which allowed to work at low concentrations. Recovery value was measured as 96.3 ± 2.3%.