Determination of active diaphorase immobilized at electrode surfaces

The activity of diaphorase (from Bacillus stearothermophilus) immobilized on glassy carbon (GC) electrodes was determined by analyzing the catalytic currents for oxidation of the immobilized enzyme using digital simulation techniques, which gives the concentration of the active enzyme at the electrode surface. Results show that the immobilization by the cross-linking reaction with glutaraldehyde deactivates the enzyme and only about 10% of the total enzyme remains active at the electrode surface.     

Reactivity of methemoglobin immobilized on TiO2 nanoparticle films

Facile demetallation occurs upon contact of the methemoglobin with a mesoporous TiO2 host in phosphate buffer media at pH 5.5 but not in acetate buffer media. As a result, voltammetric signals previously attributed to hemoglobin-based redox processes have to be re-interpreted.     

Electrochemical activity and morphology of human erythrocytes at optically transparent ITO electrode

The electrochemical activity of a suspension of human erythrocytes was found at potentials above +0.4 V. The limiting current of electrooxidation was found to linearly depend on the cell concentration in the suspension. The electrochemical activity of an erythrocyte suspension is accompanied by reversible changes in the cell morphology only in non-buffered media.     

Electrochemical study of Azathioprine at thin carbon nanoparticle composite film electrode

Thin carbon nanoparticle/Nafion film (CNP/N), as a novel electrode material, is formed on the surface of the glassy carbon electrode in a simple solvent evaporation process. The electrochemical behavior of Azathioprine (Aza) at the CNP/N-modified electrode is investigated in detail by the means of cyclic voltammetry. During the electrochemical reduction of Aza, an irreversible cathodic peak is appeared. Cyclic voltammetric studies indicated that the reduction process has an irreversible and adsorption-like behavior. The observed reduction peak is attributed to a four-electron process referring to the reduction of nitro group to the corresponding hydroxylamine. The prepared electrode showed an excellent catalytic activity toward the electro-reduction of Aza leading to a significant improvement in sensitivity as compared to the bare glassy carbon electrode where the electrochemical activity for this compound is very weak.     

阿霉素在氧化铟锡电极上的电化学行为及其应用

阿霉素(ADM)在0.02 mol/L pH 7.50的NaH2PO4-Na2HPO4缓冲溶液中,用氧化铟锡(ITO)电极进行线性扫描伏安法测定,得到一良好的还原峰,其峰电位为-0.63 V。峰电流与ADM浓度在1.0×10-7~5.0×10-6mol/L范围内呈线性关系,检出限为5.0×10-8mol/L。用循环伏安法研究了体系的电化学行为及电极反应机理。实验表明,该体系属两电子还原的不可逆过程。     

PAOAA修饰金电极固定过氧化氢酶的电化学研究

设计了一种基于金属离子螯合法固定蛋白质的新方法.首先电化学聚合苯胺(ANI)/邻氨基苯甲酸(OAA)得到在中性溶液中具有导电性的聚(苯胺-邻氨基苯甲酸)(PAOAA)共聚物膜,并对膜进行了SEM、EDS表征.随后膜负载Cu2+,Cu2+作为螯合离子通过配位作用固定过氧化氢酶(Cat).用EDS测量了铜的负载量为0.49%.脉冲伏安法(DPV)研究了Cat在金电极表面的固定过程,显示随着ANI/OAA在电极表面聚合成膜、Cat在修饰电极表面固定,电极在10mmol/LK3Fe(CN)6/K4Fe(CN)6(Fe(CN)63-/4-)溶液中的扫描峰电流由裸电极的121μA依次降到92.6、71.8μA,表明电极表面修饰的PAOAA膜和固定的Cat阻碍了电荷的传递.电化学阻抗法(EIS)对固定过程中电极表面阻抗变化的研究也得到同样结论.用线性扫描伏安法(LSV)研究了固定到电极表面后Cat对H2O2的催化还原活性.最后以计时电流法(CA)作为检测手段,Cat修饰电极作为探针实现了对H2O2的定量检测,同时该电极显示出良好的重建性.     

Amyloid-beta detection with saccharide immobilized gold nanoparticle on carbon electrode

The electrochemical sensing of saccharide-protein interactions using a couple of sialic acid derivatives and Alzheimer's amyloid-beta (Abeta) is described. The densely-packed saccharide area for recognition of protein was fabricated onto a carbon electrode by three steps, which were electrochemical deposition of Au nanoparticles on a screen printed strip, self-assembled monolayer (SAM) formation of the acetylenyl group on Au nanoparticles, and the cycloaddition reaction of an azide-terminated sialic acid to the acetylenyl group. The attachment of Abeta peptides to the sialic acid layer was confirmed by electrochemistry and atomic force microscopy imaging. The intrinsic oxidation signal of the captured Abeta(1-40) and (1-42) peptides, containing a single tyrosine (Tyr) residues, was monitored at a peak potential of 0.6 V (vs Ag/AgCl within this sensor) in connection with differential pulse voltammetry. The peak current intensities were concentration dependent. The proposed process provides new routes for analysis of saccharide-protein interactions and electrochemical biosensor development.     

肾上腺素在咖啡酸修饰电极上的电化学研究

研究了咖啡酸(CFA)修饰电极的性质,测定了电极反应的动力学常数.结果表明在pH 7.0的的磷酸盐缓冲溶液中,肾上腺素(Ep)在该修饰电极上产生一灵敏的氧化峰,峰电流与Ep浓度在5.0×10-6～1.0×10-4 mol/L范围内线性关系良好,检出限为7.0×10-7 mol/L.修饰电极制备简单,稳定性好.     

Electrochemical oxidation of 2-thiouracil at pyrolytic graphite electrode

2-Thiouracil has been studied in phosphate buffers of pH 1.95-11.08 using linear and cyclic sweep voltammetry, coulometry, controlled potential electrolysis and spectral studies. One well-defined oxidation peak I(a) in the pH range 1.95-11.08 was noticed. The number of electrons involved in peak I(a) was found to be four in a thin layer cell whereas under exhaustive electrolysis condition oxidation was found to involve six electrons. A reduction peak II(c) (2e, 2H(+)) is noticed in the reverse sweep. Spectral studies during oxidation were carried out at different pH. Kinetic studies indicated that the decay of the UV-absorbing intermediate is a first order reaction. The products of the electrooxidation have been characterized and a tentative EC mechanism has been suggested for the oxidation of 2-thiouracil.     

Optical microscope absorbance imaging of carbon black nanoparticle films at solid and liquid surfaces

We have used an optical transmission microscope equipped with a digital camera and fitted with a narrow-band-pass filter to obtain absorbance images consisting of an array of pixel absorbance values. Absorbance images of films of carbon nanoparticles were used to derive spatially resolved images of the carbon film thicknesses with a resolution in the thickness dimension of a few nanometers. The technique was applied to the characterization of carbon nanoparticle films at cellulose-coated glass surfaces and at the oil-water interfaces of emulsion drops. For the emulsions, it was necessary to use oil and water phases of equal refractive index to avoid artifacts due to the drops acting as lenses.     

Electrochemical properties of a ruthenium complex immobilized as thin films and in carbon paste electrodes

The electrochemical properties of mer-[RuCl₃(dppb)(4-pic)] (dppb = Ph₂P(CH₂)₄PPh₂, 4-pic = CH₃C₅H₄N), Rupic, in CHCl₃ are governed by the formation of species such as [Ru₂Cl₅(dppb)₂], [Ru₂(dppb)₂Cl₄(4-pic)] and trans-[RuCl₂(dppb)(4-pic)₂] upon the reduction of “[RuCl₂(dppb)]”. The overall behavior depends on whether Rupic is immobilized in cast or Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) films, or incorporated into a carbon paste electrode (CPE). In cyclic voltammograms, one redox process appears for LB/Rupic films and CPE/Rupic, at E_pa = 0.35 V, E_pc = 0.25 V vs SCE, and E_pa = 0.32 V, E_pc = 0.24 V vs Ag/AgCl, respectively. This redox process was ascribed to the Ru^III/Ru^II charge transfer. For cast films the redox pair was poorly defined, with E_pa = 0.27 V and E_pc = 0.20 V. The reason for the difference lies in the phase separation and formation of aggregates onto ITO for the cast film, in contrast to the LB film. With aggregation, the formation of species occurring in solution is impaired for Rupic in cast films. The electrochemical properties for Rupic in LB films and incorporated into CPE allowed the electrocatalytic activity of Rupic to be exploited in sensors for dopamine and ascorbic acid.     

Electrochemical biosensors based on enzymes immobilized in electropolymerized films

A review based on 135 references concerns the design and properties of electrochemical biosensors for 13 different substrates of enzymatic reactions. In the sensors discussed the enzymes are immobilized within or on the top of electropolymerized films, mostly of conducting polymers. Amperometric detection is most often used for internal electrochemical sensing.Dedicated to our late colleague Wojciech Matuszewski     

HAXPES of protected ITO surfaces at the buried P3HT/ITO interface

The characterization of buried interfaces is difficult and often has to be performed by a post‐processing method where the interface is exposed. Hard energy X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy offers the ability to tune the X‐ray energy and thereby change the information depth. In this work, an inorganic/organic interface was evaluated, namely the poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) interface with indium tin oxide (ITO), with relevance to organic photovoltaic devices. P3HT/ITO buried interfaces were examined using three X‐ray energies where the ITO surface was prepared under different pretreatment conditions. The P3HT film protected the ITO surface from adventitious adsorbents and allowed for sensitivity to the buried ITO surface. Robust peak fitting parameters were obtained to model the O 1 s and In 3d lineshapes. The deconvolution of these lineshapes allowed for the clear identification of a surface layer on the ITO which is oxidized to a greater extent than the underlying bulk ITO. The surface oxide layer, composed of indium oxide and indium hydroxide, is deficient of oxygen vacancies and would therefore be expected to act as an insulating barrier on the ITO surface. Peak fitting conditions allowed for an estimation of the relative thicknesses of this insulating layer. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of hemoglobin at a novel NH2/ITO ion implantation modified electrode

A novel electrode was prepared by implanting NH₂ ⁺ into an ITO film (NH₂/ITO). Gold nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of NH₂/ITO electrode. The NH₂/ITO and Au/NH₂/ITO electrodes were used to determine hemoglobin (Hb) immobilized on the electrodes surfaces. The relationship of the reductive peak current value of Hb among different electrodes was: Hb/ITO:Hb/Au/ITO:Hb/NH₂/ITO:Hb/Au/NH₂/ITO=1:1.5:2:4. The linkage between the –NH₂ implanted into ITO film and the –COOH of Hb was recognized to be the reason for the increase of active Hb coverage on NH₂/ITO electrode compared with the ITO electrode. Increase of active Hb coverage on Au/NH₂/ITO compared with Au/ITO was attributed to the different amount of gold nanoparticles deposited. The determination of Hb at an Au/NH₂/ITO electrode was optimized. Calibration curve was obtained over the range of 1.0 × 10⁻⁸ – 1.0 × 10⁻⁶ mol · L⁻¹ with a detection limit of 1.0 × 10⁻⁸ mol · L⁻¹. Results showed that the novel NH₂/ITO and Au/NH₂/ITO electrodes exhibited good stability, reproducibility besides better electrochemical performance. Correspondence: Jing Bo Hu, Department of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China     

Electrochemical growth of two-dimensional gold nanostructures on a thin polypyrrole film modified ITO electrode

Two-dimensional gold nanostructures have been fabricated by electrochemical deposition of gold nanoparticles onto indium tin oxide (ITO) glass substrate modified with thin polypyrrole film. By controlling the electrodeposition conditions, gold nanoparticles with dendritic rod, sheet, flower-like (consisting of staggered nanosheets), and pinecone-like structures were generated. The flower-like gold nanoparticles showed high catalytic activity on electrochemical reduction of oxygen, and its activity was measured to be approximately 25 times that of gold pinecones and 10(4) times that of gold nanosheets in terms of gold weight. The pinecone-like nanoparticles can form a compact film with nano-/microscale binary structure like a lotus leaf surface. After modification with n-dodecanethiol, the surface showed superhydrophobic properties with a water contact angle of 153.4 degrees and a tilt angle of 4.4 degrees (5 microL droplet).     

Potential-induced structural deformation at electrode surfaces

The atomic structure on the metal side of the electrochemical interface depends on the applied electric potential and the nature of the adsorbing species in the electrolyte solution. In this short article, we review some recent results probing surface stress and surface relaxation effects in single-crystal metal electrodes that are driven by potential changes. Both the potential and the structure in the electrolyte layers at the interface alter the metal electronic structure so that the surface in the electrochemical environment is strongly modified from the ultra-high vacuum counterpart. A methodology for linking experimental and theoretical approaches for a fundamental understanding of electrochemical reactions is proposed.     

Electrochemistry of ITO electrode modified by multilayer ultrathin films based on crown-shaped polyoxomolybdate

The electrochemical multilayer films of crown-shaped polyoxomolybdate Na21{[Na5(H2O)14] intersection[Mo(V)(20)Mo(VI)(26)O134(OH)10(mu-CH3COO)4]}.CH3COONa.90H2O (Mo46) and polyelectrolytes by layer-by-layer assembly were investigated. The stable multilayer films were assembled by alternate adsorption of negatively charged POM and positively charged polyelectrolytes is from their aqueous dispersions. UV-vis spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry were used to monitor the regular growth of the multilayer films. The multilayer films-modified ITO electrode was used for the detection of electrocatalytic activity toward the reduction of nitrite, bromate, and hydrogen peroxide. The proposed novel immobilized method exhibited good stability, reproducibility and high sensitivity for the determination of electrocatalytic, which is important for practical application.     

Self-assembled monolayers at electrode metal surfaces

Neutral organic compounds, dissolved in an electrolyte in contact with an electrode, adsorb and form different monolayers which may range from dilute to compact films. In some instances, non-electroactive organic molecules are highly associated and form 2D condensed phases which are characterized by the presence of phase transitions. The occurence of these self-assembled monolayers is discussed on the basis of experimental results obtained at equilibrium as well as under dynamic conditions. Self-assembling depends on the relative magnitude of the interactions involving the surfactant, the solvent and the electrode. Adequate potential-step programmes have been successfully used to trigger the formation of the ordered phase. It is found that the kinetics are controlled by a nucleation and growth mechanism. According to the experimental conditions, a deterministic or stochastic behaviour is observed. The amplitude of the supersaturation, given by the surface free energy gap between the final and metastable states, is independently controlled by the potential, temperature and surfactant concentration. The classical nucleation theory allows the determination of key parameters such as the line tension, the radius and free energy of formation of the critical nucleus. Ion and electron transfer processes through condensed monolayers are also briefly described.     

DNA dissociation and degradation at gold nanoparticle surfaces

The instability of DNA-functionalized gold nanoparticles (Au-DNA conjugates) upon exposure to high temperatures is characterized using fluorescence spectroscopy, gel electrophoresis and ion-exchange chromatography. Above 70 °C, aqueous Au-DNA conjugates decompose within hours due to both desorption of thiol-terminated DNA from the gold nanoparticle surface and chemical degradation of DNA in the presence of colloidal gold. Although the chemical mechanism for DNA degradation was not identified in this study, the gold surface participates directly in the cleavage reaction. These results have important implications for the use of Au-DNA conjugates in biotechnological and clinical applications that require high temperatures, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR).     

新型饱和砷钨杂多酸修饰电极的电化学性能研究

将有序多孔阳极氧化铝(PAA)模板修饰到涂有饱和Dawson型K6[As2W18O62]·14H2O(As2W18)杂多酸的溶胶(Sol)玻碳电极(GCE)上,制备了新型的PAA/As2W18-Sol/GC修饰电极.采用SEM、XRD和循环伏安等测试技术对多孔PAA形貌、结构和修饰电极性能进行表征,考察了PAA对修饰电极电化学性质的影响,并用循环伏安法(CV)和电流-时间(i-t)曲线法探讨了修饰电极电化学行为.研究结果表明,有序多孔PAA模板不仅改善了As2W18-Sol/GCE的可逆性,使峰形变得更加尖锐,而且还提高了修饰电极的稳定性和灵敏度;该纳米多孔材料修饰电极对邻苯二酚有明显的催化还原作用,在1.0×10-6~0.01mol/L浓度范围内邻苯二酚浓度与催化电流呈线性关系,检测限达到1.0×10-8 mol/L,可用于实际样品测定.