Detection of complement C1-inhibitor with a piezoelectric immunosensor

A novel piezoelectric immunosensor has been developed for the detection of human complement C1-inhibitor. Anti-C1-inhibitor antibody was immobilized onto the gold electrodes of a 9 MHz AT-cut piezoelectric crystal. Coating the crystal with polyethyleneimine adhesion, followed by a glutaraldehyde cross-linking method to immobilize antibody showed better results than the physical adsorption method with respect to sensitivity and reproducibility. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the sensor showed good response to the C1-inhibitor in the range from 2.0 x 10(-8) to 1.2 x 10(-6) g. Other proteins in human serum did not remarkably interfere with the detection. The crystals could be regenerated 5 times, when bound materials on the crystal surface were eluted by strong acid and strong alkali solution and subsequently cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner.     

Piezoelectric Quartz Crystal Anti‐Protein Immunosensors Based on Immobilized Fullerene C60‐Proteins

Various fullerene C60‐proteins such as C60‐myoglobin (C60‐Mb), C60‐hemoglobin (C60‐Hb) and C60‐gliadin, coated piezoelectric quartz crystals were prepared and applied in piezoelectric quartz crystal immunosensors for protein‐antibodies such as anti‐myoglobin (Anti‐Mb), anti‐hemoglobin (Anti‐Hb) and anti‐gliadin respectively. The immobilizations of myoglobin, hemoglobin and gliadin onto Fullerene C60 were studied with a C60‐coated piezoelectric crystal detection system, respectively. The partially irreversible frequency responses for theses proteins were observed by a desorption study, implying that C60 can strongly adsorb these proteins. Thus, immobilized C60‐Mb, C60‐Hb and C60‐gliadin coating materials were successfully prepared and identified with FTIR spectrometry. The C60‐Mb, C60‐Hb and C60‐gliadin coated piezoelectric (PZ) quartz crystal immunosensors with homemade computer interfaces for signal acquisition and data processing were developed and applied for detection of Anti‐Mb, Anti‐Hb and anti‐gliadin respectively. The C60‐protein coated PZ immunosensors for Anti‐Mb, Anti‐Hb and antigliadin exhibited linear frequency responses to the concentrations of theses anti‐proteins with sensitivities of 1.43 × 10³, 2.59 × 10³ and 8.05 × 10³ Hz/(mg/mL) respectively. The detection limits of these PZ‐immunosensors were 4.36 × 10^?3, 3.23 × 10^?3 and 1.98 × 10^?3 mg/mL for Anti‐Mb, Anti‐Hb and anti‐gliadin respectively. Effects of pH and temperature on the frequency responses of the anti‐protein PZ‐immunosensors were also investigated. The optimum pH of these anti‐proteins and the optimum temperature for the PZ‐immunosensors were observed at pH = 7 and around 30 °C respectively. The interferences of various common species in human blood, e.g., cysteine, tyrosine, urea, glucose, ascorbic acid and metal ions, to these anti‐protein PZ‐immunosensors were also investigated respectively. These species showed nearly no interference or quite small interference with the anti‐protein PZ‐immunosensors. The reproducibility and lifetime of these immobilized C60‐protein coated PZ crystal immunosensors were also investigated and discussed.     

Detection of complement C4 with a piezoelectric immunosensor

A piezoelectric immunosensor has been developed for the detection of complement C4. Anti-C4 antibody was immobilized onto the gold electrodes of a 9 MHz AT-cut piezoelectric crystal. The coated crystal with the physical adsorption method to immobilize antibody showed the better results than the polyethyleneimine adhesion, glutaraldehyde cross-linking method with respect to sensitivity and reproducibility. The antibody-bound crystal with the physical adsorption method was successfully used for the detection of human complement C4 in the concentration range of 0.1-10 μg/mL for 40 min incubation time. The immunosensor system had good selectivity, and other materials in human serum did not interfere the detection remarkably. The crystal could be regenerated nearly 15 times when the bound materials on the crystal surface were eluted by strong acid and strong alkali solutions and subsequently cleaned in a ultrasonic cleaner.     

Human Granulocytes Detected with a Piezoimmunosensor

Abstract

We have developed a reusable piezoelectric immunosensor for human granulocytes. Three different methods for immobilization of the anti-CD 18 antibody on the gold electrode of the immunosensor were tested. The methods showed some differences in terms of stability and sensitivity. Applying an anti-CD 18 antibody layer onto a 10-MHz AT-cut crystal resulted for 2 × 10³ to 3 × 10⁵ cells on the surface in a linear frequency change. The modified crystal was stable for eight weeks when stored desiccated at room temperature.     

Rapid Detection of Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B by Two-Dimensional Molecularly Imprinted Film-Coated Quartz Crystal Microbalance

We fabricated a two-dimensional (2D) molecularly imprinted sol-gel thin film-coated quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) for the rapid detection of staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) by combining organosilanes and the template protein SEB on the surface of piezoelectric quartz crystal (PQC) Au-electrode by in-situ immobilization. The detection process was monitored by the QCM's frequency shift (Δf). The working range of this method was 1.0 × 10^?1–1.0 × 10³ µg/mL. The detection limit was 6.1 ng/mL, which was lower than that of the PQC immunosensor, and the detection period was within 0.5 h. The reproducibility of the imprinted film-coated QCM was satisfactory due to no significant statistical difference (P > 0.05) in the rapid detection of SEB between intra- and inter-batch. The selectivity of the imprinted sol-gel film showed that it could discriminate the template molecule from its analogues and other guest molecules. Compared with immunochip, the imprinted film-coated QCM is more advantageous in terms of simplicity, rapidity, low cost, and sensitivity. Moreover, in real sample analysis, the recoveries of this method were 89.4–106.63%, which can be considered a favorable and applicable method for the rapid determination of SEB in real samples.     

Rapid colorimetric detection of Salmonella typhimuriumusing a selective filtration technique combined with antibody–magnetic nanoparticle nanocomposites

Detection of pathogenic bacteria that pose a great risk to human health requires a rapid, convenient, reliable, and sensitive detection method. In this study, we developed a selective filtration method using monoclonal antibody (MAb)–magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) nanocomposites for the rapid and sensitive colorimetric detection of Salmonella typhimurium. The method contains two key steps: the immunomagnetic separation of the bacteria using MAb–MNP nanocomposites and the filtration of the nanocomposite-bound bacteria. Color signals from the nanocomposites remaining on the membrane were measured, which reflected the amount of bacteria in test samples. Immunomagnetic capture efficiencies of 8 to 90 % for various concentrations of the pathogen (2?×?10⁴–2?×?10¹ cells) were obtained. After optimization of the method, 2?×?10¹ cells of S. typhimurium in pure culture solution was detectable as well as in artificially inoculated vegetables (100 cells/g). The method was confirmed to be highly specific to S. typhimurium without cross-reaction to other pathogenic bacteria and could be concluded within 45 min, yielding results in a shorter or similar time period as compared with recently reported antibody immobilized on magnetic-particle-based methods. This study also demonstrated direct application of MAb–MNP nanocomposites without a dissociation step of bacteria from magnetic beads in colorimetric assays in practice.     

Piezoelectric immuno sensor for the detection of candida albicans microbes

The system consists of an AT-cut quartz piezoelectric crystal, oscillator and frequency counter. The surface of the palladium-plated electrodes is oxidized anodically, and anti-Candida antibody is immobilized onto the surface. The crystal sensor is dipped into Candida suspension and the surface mass increase, caused by immuno-adsorption of Candida, is measured by the decrease in the resonant frequency of the crystal. The frequency shift is correlated with C. albicans concentrations in the range 10⁶?5 × 10⁸ cells cm^?3. The crystal sensor showed no response to Saccharomyces cerevisiae.     

Fullerene‐Crown Ether Coated Piezoelectric Crystal Liquid Chromatographic Detector for Metal Ions and Polar/Nonpolar Organic Molecules

Fullerene(C60)‐dibenzo‐16‐crown‐5‐oxyacetic acid (DBI6C5‐OCH₂‐COOC₆₀) was prepared and applied as the coating material on piezoelectric quartz crystals for detection of various metal ions and polar/nonpolar organic molecules. The C60‐crown ether‐coated piezoelectric crystal sensor with a home‐made computer interface for signal acquisition and data processing was applied as an ion chromatographic (IC) detector for various metal ions, e.g., alkali metal, alkaline earth metal and transition‐metal ions. The piezoelectric detector exhibited quite good sensitivity of 10⁴ ～ 10⁶ Hz/M and good detection limit of 10^?3 ～ 10^?4 M for these metal ions. The C60‐crown ether piezoelectric detector compared well with the commercial conductivity detector conventionally used for metal ions. The ionic size and ionic charge seemed to have significant effect on the frequency response of the piezoelectric detector. The C60‐crown ether coated piezoelectric crystal sensor was also employed as a high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) detector for various polar organic molecules with frequency responses in the order: amines > carboxylic acids > alcohols > ketones. Furthermore, nonpolar organic molecules, e.g., n‐hexane, 1‐hexene and 1‐hexyne, were also detected with this piezoelectric crystal detector. The frequency responses of the piezoelectric crystal detector for these nonpolar organic molecules were in the following order: alkynes > alkenes > alkanes. The effects of solvents and flow rate on the frequency responses of the piezoelectric crystal detector were investigated. The C60‐crown ether coated piezoelectric crystal detector also showed short response time (< 1 min.) and good reproducibility.     

Simultaneous Determination of Epinephrine, Noradrenaline and Dopamine in Human Serum Samples by High Performance Liquid Chromatography with Chemiluminescence Detection

A simple, rapid and accurate high performance liquid chromatographic （HPLC） technique coupled with chemiluminescence （CL） detection was developed for the simultaneous determination of epinephrine （E）, noradrenaline （NA） and dopamine （DA）. It was based on the analyte enhancement effect on the CL reaction between luminol and potassium ferricyanide. The effects of various parameters, such as potassium ferricyanide concentration, luminol concentration, pH value and component of the mobile phase on chromatographic behaviors of the analytes （E, NA and DA） were investigated. The separation was carded out on C18 column using the mobile phase of 0.01 mol/L potassium hydrogen phthalate solution and methanol （92 ： 8, V/V）. Under the optimum condi- tions, E, NA and DA showed good linear relationships in the range of 1 × 10^-8 -5 × 10^-6, 5.0× 10^-9 -1.0× 10^-6 and 5.0×10^-9-1.0× 10^-6 g]mL respectively. The detection limits for E, NA and DA were 4.0×10^-9, 1.0× 10^-9 and 8.0 × 10^-10 g/mL. The proposed method has been applied successfully to the analysis of E, NA and DA in human serum samples.     

Simple determination of betaine,l‐carnitine and choline in human urine using self‐packed column and column‐switching ion chromatography with nonsuppressed conductivity detection

A sequential online extraction, clean‐up and separation system for the determination of betaine, l ‐carnitine and choline in human urine using column‐switching ion chromatography with nonsuppressed conductivity detection was developed in this work. A self‐packed pretreatment column (50 × 4.6 mm, i.d.) was used for the extraction and clean‐up of betaine, l ‐carnitine and choline. The separation was achieved using self‐packed cationic exchange column (150 × 4.6 mm, i.d.), followed by nonsuppressed conductivity detection. Under optimized experimental conditions, the developed method presented good analytical performance, with excellent linearity in the range of 0.60–100 μg mL⁻¹ for betaine, 0.75–100 μg mL⁻¹ for l ‐carnitine and 0.50–100 μg mL⁻¹ for choline, with all correlation coefficients (R²) >0.99 in urine. The limits of detection were 0.15 μg mL⁻¹ for betaine, 0.20 μg mL⁻¹ for l ‐carnitine and 0.09 μg mL⁻¹ for choline. The intra‐ and inter‐day accuracy and precision for all quality controls were within ±10.32 and ±9.05%, respectively. Satisfactory recovery was observed between 92.8 and 102.0%. The validated method was successfully applied to the detection of urinary samples from 10 healthy people. The values detected in human urine using the proposed method showed good agreement with the measurement reported previously.     

A novel fiber-grafting-sensing testing method for temperature deformation of piezoelectric composites

The deformation of piezoelectric composite has many deadly effects on the transducers and the sonar systems, but the relative testing method never been focused. Here we developed a novel fiber-grating-sensing method for the study of temperature deformation of the piezoelectric composites for the first time. With the increase of temperature, the deformations of the piezoelectric composite in three dimensions increased, and the increasing speeds (all speeds means slop of fitted line) were 1.4 × 10⁻³ (length), 1.8833 × 10⁻⁴ (width) and 3.1439 × 10⁻⁵ (thickness), respectively. After adding the deform information the data for the frequency constant and dielectric constant were revised. The decreasing speed of frequency constant lowered from −2.0373 to −2.0263. The increasing speed of dielectric constant lowered from 2.6779 to 2.6580 in the range of 25 °C–75 °C, and from 1.9647 to 1.9559 in the range of 75 °C–125 °C.     

Flow injection chemiluminescence determination of isoniazid with electrogenerated hypochlorite

A flow-injection chemiluminescence method for the determination of isoniazid based on the sensitizing effect of isoniazid on the chemiluminescence generating luminol-hypochlorite reaction is described. The hypochlorite was electrogenerated on-line by constant current electrolysis, thus, eliminating instability of hypochlorite solution prepared from commercially available sodium hypochlorite. The calibration graph is linear in the range 1 × 10^–8 to 1 × 10^–6 g mL^–1, and the detection limit is 6 × 10^–9 g mL^–1. The relative standard deviation for determination of 5 × 10^–8 g mL^–1 is 2.8%. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the determination of isoniazid in pharmaceutical preparations.     

Simplified determination of bacterial contamination by Escherichia coli using a flow injection system with piezoelectric detection

A rapid and automated method was developed for the determination of bacterial contamination and using Escherichia coli as a model microorganism. The method involves the use of a sensor connected to a flow injection (FI) system. The sample is introduced through a flow injection system into a piezoelectric quartz crystal (PQC) flow-cell. The resulting change of the resonance frequency is related to the bacterial contamination in the sample. The parameters associated with the flow system and the conditions for introducing the sample culture were optimized. Calibration curves are linear in the range from 3.2?×?10⁷ to 3.2?×?10⁹ cfu per mL^-1, with a correlation coefficient of 0.997. The reproducibility was between 3.1 and 7.6%, and the detection limit is 1.1?×?10⁷ cfu per mL^-1. The method allowed the determination of bacterial contamination in residual water and in samples of milk and chicken stock within 5 h, while the conventional plate count method requires 24 to 48 h. The results obtained by these two methods are in good agreement.

Polymer Coated Piezoelectric Quartz Crystal Protein Bio‐Sensors

A polymer coated piezoelectric crystal detection system with a home‐made computer interface for signal acquisition and data processing was prepared as a liquid chromatographic detector for various proteins. Various polymers, e.g., polyvinyl aldehhyde (polyacrolein) (PVA), polyacrylamide/glutaldehyde (PAA/GA) and bio‐gel A, were used as coating materials on quartz crystals for adsorption of various protein molecules, e.g., catalase (CA), hemoglobin (Hb), α‐chymotrypsin (Ch), albumin (Ab). The frequency responses of the polyacrlein coated piezoelectric detector for various proteins were in the order: catalase> hemoglobin> α‐chymotrypsin > albumin. In contrast, the order of the frequency responses of bio‐gel A and polyacrylamide/glutaldehyde coated piezoelectric crystals for these proteins were: hemoglobin> catalase > α‐chymotrypsin ≥ albumin and hemoglobin > albumin > catalase. The polyacrolein coated piezoelectric crystal protein detector exhibited a good linear frequency response with a high sensitivity of about 2.5×10³ Hz/(mg/mL) for catalase. In addition, bio‐gel A and polyacrylamide/glutaraldehyde coated crystals were sensitive to hemoglobin with sensitivities of about 4.5×10³ Hz/(mg/mL) and 3.0×10³ Hz/(mg/mL), respectively. Study of the interference of various organic molecules, e.g., alcohols, amines, ketones and carboxylic acids, in the detection of proteins with theses polymer coated crystals was also made. The polyacrolein coated crystal for proteins under went less interference from various organic molecules than bio‐gel A or polyacrylamide/glutaraldehyde coated crystals. Effects of coating load, concentration of proteins and flow rate of liquid chromatographic eluent were also investigated and discussed.     

Voltammetric Method for the Simultaneous Determination of Melatonin and Pyridoxine in Dietary Supplements Using a Cathodically Pretreated Boron‐doped Diamond Electrode

The simultaneous voltammetric determination of melatonin (MT) and pyridoxine (PY) has been carried out at a cathodically pretreated boron‐doped diamond electrode. By using cyclic voltammetry, a separation of the oxidation peak potentials of both compounds present in mixture was about 0.47 V in Britton‐Robinson buffer, pH 2. The results obtained by square‐wave voltammetry allowed a method to be developed for determination of MT and PY simultaneously in the ranges 1–100 μg mL⁻¹ (4.3×10⁻⁶–4.3×10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹) and 10–175 μg mL⁻¹ (4.9×10⁻⁵–8.5×10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹), with detection limits of 0.14 μg mL⁻¹ (6.0×10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹) and 1.35 μg mL⁻¹ (6.6×10⁻⁶ mol L⁻¹), respectively. The proposed method was successfully to the dietary supplements samples containing these compounds for health‐caring purposes.     

Spectrophotometric determination of linezolid in pharmaceuticals on the basis of coupled redox-complexation reactions

The present study describes three simple and sensitive spectrophotometric methods developed for the determination of linezolid (LZD) in pure and tablet forms. These methods are based on the oxidation of LZD by ferric chloride in the presence of 1,10-phenanthroline (method A), or 2,2′-bipyridyl (method B), or potassium ferricyanide (method C). The colored complexes were measured at 510, 522 and 758 nm for methods A, B and C, respectively. In all the methods, the absorbance is found to increase linearly with increasing LZD concentration. Beer’s law is obeyed over the concentration ranges of 0.5–6.0, 0.5–9.0 and 1.0–9.0 μg/mL for methods A, B and C, respectively. The calculated molar absorptivity values are 5.8 × 10⁴, 3.6 × 10⁴ and 4.8 × 10⁴ L/mol cm for methods A, B and C, respectively, and the corresponding Sandell’s sensitivities are 5.8 × 10^?3, 9.8 × 10^?3 and 7 × 10^?3 μg/cm², respectively. The developed methods are applied successfully to the determination of LZD in the pharmaceutical formulations and the results tallied well with label claims.     

Piezoelectric Crystal Biosensor System for Detection of Escherichia Coli

Abstract

A piezoelectric crystal biosensor system was applied to the detection of Escherichia coli. the system consists of an oscillator, a frequency counter, a flow cell and a modified piezoelectric crystal. Anti-E. coli antibody is immobilized on the surface of the crystal. It is used as an E. coli detection by measuring its resonant frequency shift due to a mass change caused by specific binding of the micro organisms to the surface. the frequency shift correlates with an E. coli concentration in the range of 10⁶?10⁸ cells·cm^?3. the resonant frequency shift is increased by further treatment to bind micro-particles modified with anti-E. coli antibody. This method allows us to improve the determination limit to 10⁵ cells · cm^?3.     

Determination of silver in solution with a piezoelectric detector after electrodeposition

Silver in solution is determined in situ by frequency change of a piezoelectric quartz crystal due to electrodeposition on the electrode of the crystal immersed in the solution. A test solution containing EDTA for masking other metal ions flows through a thermostated cell which contains the crystal with platinum-plated electrodes. The frequency change is proportional to the silver concentration in the range 10^?6?3 × 10^?5 M after electrodeposition for 10 min, and 2 × 10^?7?1 × 10^?6 M for 1 h.     

Determination of 1-hydroxypyrene in human urine by a multi-wall carbon nanotubes-modified glassy carbon electrode

A multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) modified glassy carbon electrode (MWNT-GCE) was used to study the electrochemical behaviour of1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) and applied to its determination. The results showed that the modified electrode had a strong adsorptive ability to 1-OHP and enhances its electrochemical signal. By square wave voltammetry, the linear relationship of 1-OHP was 6?×?10^?9???8?×?10^?7?mol?L^?1 with a linear correlation coefficient of 0.996, and the detection limit was 1?×?10^?10?mol?L^?1. Compared with other published methods, this newly proposed method possesses many advantages such as very low detection limit, fast response, low cost and simplicity. And this method was applied successfully in the determination of 1‐OHP in real human urine samples.     

Flow-injection chemiluminescence determinations for human blood lead using controlled reagent release technology

A flow-through CL method for the determination of lead combined with controlled-reagent-release technology has been developed. Chemiluminescence (CL) reagents luminol and potassium permanganate were immobilized on anion exchange resin by electrostatic interaction. Lead ion was determined by its enhancing effect on the CL reaction between luminol and potassium permanganate. Both luminol and potassium permanganate were eluted from the anion exchange resin column by sodium phosphate solution. The linear range of the system was 10 μg mL^?1, and the detection limit was 5?×?10^–9 g mL^?1 lead (3σ). A complete analysis could be performed in 1 min with a relative SD 3.2% (1.0?×?10^–7 g mL^?1, n?=?9). The column shows remarkable stability and can be reused over 350 times and 21 days. The method has been applied to determine lead in human blood samples.