Titanium Carbide Thin‐Film Electrodes: Characterization and Evaluation as Working Electrodes

Titanium carbide (TiC) polycrystalline thin films, obtained by a hybrid chemical vapor deposition/powder flowing technique, were characterized and used to assemble working electrodes. The potential window and the electrochemistry of standard redox couples ([Ru(NH₃)₆]³⁺, [Fe(CN)₆]^3?) have been investigated in cyclic voltammetry, demonstrating a behavior similar to glassy carbon electrodes. The quinone (Q)/hydroquinone(H₂Q) redox couple presented an interesting quasireversible behavior(E_p=0.07 mV) , confirmed also for other quinones.     

Electrocatalysis of a Europium-Dependent Bacterial Methanol Dehydrogenase with Its Physiological Electron-Acceptor Cytochrome cGJ

We report the first electrochemical study of a lanthanoid-dependent methanol dehydrogenase (Eu-MDH) from the acidophilic verrucomicrobial methanotroph Methylacidiphilum fumariolicum SolV with its own physiological cytochrome c_GJ electron acceptor. Eu-MDH harbours a redox active 2,7,9-tricarboxypyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) cofactor which is non-covalently bound but coordinates trivalent lanthanoid elements including Eu³⁺. Eu-MDH and the cytochrome were co-adsorbed with the biopolymer chitosan and cast onto a mercaptoundecanol (MU) monolayer modified Au working electrode. Cyclic voltammetry of cytochrome c_GJ reveals a well-defined quasi-reversible Fe^III/II redox couple at +255 mV vs. NHE at pH 7.5 and this response is pH independent. The reversible one-electron response of the cytochrome c_GJ transforms into a sigmoidal catalytic wave in the presence of Eu-MDH and its substrates (methanol or formaldehyde). The catalytic current was pH-dependent and pH 7.3 was found to be optimal. Kinetic parameters (pH dependence, activation energy) obtained by electrochemistry show the same trends as those obtained from an artificial phenazine ethosulfate/dichlorophenol indophenol assay.     

魔芋多糖固定化肌红蛋白的直接电化学与电催化

用魔芋多糖(KGM)和N,N-二甲基甲酰胺(DMF)的加合物,将肌红蛋白(Mb)固定在玻碳电极(GCE)上,制备了稳定的Mb-KGM-DMF/GCE修饰电极,并研究了Mb在修饰电极上的直接电化学行为和电催化性能。该电极在pH=7.0的磷酸盐缓冲溶液(PBS)中,-0.38 V(E0′)处有一对氧化还原峰,峰电位差ΔEp=70 mV,该峰正是Mb中血红素辅基FeⅢ/FeⅡ电对的氧化还原特征峰。在0.2~9.0 V/s扫速的范围内,氧化还原峰峰电流大小和扫描速率成正比,呈现出表面控制行为。在pH为5.0~12.0的范围内,式电位和pH值呈线性关系,表明电子传递过程伴随着质子转移。同时,Mb-KGM-DMF/GCE修饰电极表现出良好的电催化性能,对氧、H2O2有显著的催化作用。在4.70~75.0μmol/L的范围内,其催化峰电流大小与H2O2的浓度有良好的线性关系,其线性回归方程i=0.127 0.093C,r=0.9989,表观米氏常数为80.8μmol/L。     

Electrochemical properties of modified carbon paste electrodes containing some amino derivatives of 9,10-anthraquinone

The preparation and aqueous electrochemistry of carbon paste electrodes modified by some amino-substituted 9,10-anthraquinones are reported. In all cases, the reduction processes studied by cyclic voltammetry reveal a quasi-reversible behavior. The half-wave potentials were calculated as a function of the solution pH and from the resulting potential-pH plots the formal potentials and pK _a ^′ values of different redox and acid-base couples involved at various pH ranges were evaluated. The diffusion coefficients of different anthraquinone derivatives used in paraffin oil were calculated by chronoamperometry. Received: 3 May 1999 / Accepted: 15 November 1999     

Bioelectrochemical detection of L-lactate respiration using genetically modified Hansenula polymorpha yeast cells overexpressing flavocytochrome b2

In general, L-lactate respiration is difficult to detect in living yeast cells due to the small activity of L-lactate oxidizing enzymes within the mitochondria. Genetically modified cells of methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha overproducing L-lactate:cytochrome c-oxidoreductase (EC 1.1.2.3, also known as flavocytochrome b₂, FC b₂) were physically immobilized by means of a dialysis membrane onto various types of electrode materials in order to investigate the possibility of electrochemically detecting L-lactate respiration. It could be shown that in the case of genetically modified Hansenula polymorpha cells in contrast to cells from the parental strain, enhanced L-lactate-dependent respiration could be detected. Due to overproduction of FC b₂ the O₂ reduction current is decreased upon addition of L-lactate to the electrolyte solution. The electron transfer pathway in the L-lactate-dependent respiration process involves a cascade over three redox proteins, FC b₂, cytochrome c and Complex-IV, starting with L-lactate oxidation and ending with oxygen reduction. By means of selective inhibition of Complex IV with CN⁻, lactate respiration could be proven for causing the decrease in the O₂ reduction.     

Analysis of a high redox potential heme in tetraheme cytochrome c3 by direct electrochemistry

Cytochrome c₃ from Desulfovibrio vulgaris (Miyazaki F), a redox protein, contains four bis-histidine-coordinated hemes and has lower redox potential than other heme proteins. Direct electrochemical measurements of cytochrome c₃ were carried out using a pyrolytic graphite edge (PGE) electrode. A low redox potential, already measured by redox titration, and a high redox potential (− 245 mV vs. Ag/AgCl) were observed at room temperature. The high redox potential of cytochrome c₃ was similar to that observed for the loss of an axial ligand at heme. To investigate the loss of the histidine ligand, we explored the electrochemistry of four cytochrome c₃ mutants, in which the sixth coordinated histidine was replaced by methionine. The electrochemistry of the cytochrome c₃ mutants indicated that only Heme III undergoes loss of its axial histidine ligand.     

Electrochemical performance and electrocatalytic behavior of myoglobin on graphene tube-modified electrode

A new protein biosensing strategy based on a graphene tube (GT)-modified electrode was developed in this article. GT as a fixed material and signal amplifier was loaded on the carbon ionic liquid electrode (CILE) surface, which could provide a suitable environment for myoglobin (Mb) immobilization and promote electron transfer between Mb and the electrode. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) of Mb before and after mixing with GT was checked and showed that the native structure of Mb was maintained. The direct electrochemistry of Mb was investigated with a pair of obtained well-defined and quasireversible redox peaks. The modified electrode (Nafion/Mb/GT/CILE) also showed excellent electrocatalytic activity for the reduction of trichloroacetic acid (TCA) and NaNO₂, which could be utilized to determine the concentrations of TCA and NaNO₂ with wide detection range and low detection limit. The biosensor was further applied to the detection of a real sample and obtained satisfactory experimental results.     

Electrochemical behavior of horseradish peroxidase on WS2 nanosheet‐modified electrode and electrocatalytic investigation

In this paper, a WS₂ nanosheet was modified on the surface of a carbon ionic liquid electrode (CILE), and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was further fixed on the electrode with a Nafion film. Direct electrochemistry and bioelectrocatalysis of HRP incorporated on the modified electrode were investigated in detail. On Nafion/HRP/WS₂/CILE, a pair of well‐defined quasi‐reversible redox peaks appeared on the cyclic voltammogram, indicating that the presence of the WS₂ nanosheet on the electrode surface could provide a specific interface with large surface area for HRP and its direct electron transfer rate was greatly enhanced. The formal potential (E⁰) obtained was –0.179 V, which was the typical feature of heme Fe(III)/Fe(II) in HRP. The electron transfer coefficient (α) and the heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant (k_s) of HRP were calculated as 0.44 and 1.01 s^–1, respectively. This HRP‐modified electrode showed excellent electrocatalytic activity for the reduction of trichloroacetic acid and NaNO₂ with a wide linear range and low detection limit. Real samples were detected by this proposed method, indicating the successful fabrication of a new third‐generation electrochemical enzyme sensor utilizing the WS₂ nanosheet.     

Direct electrochemistry and electrocatalysis of hemoglobin on chitosan-room temperature ionic liquid-TiO(2)-graphene nanocomposite film modified electrode

TiO₂-graphene nanocomposite was prepared by hydrolysis of titanium isopropoxide in colloidal suspension of graphene oxide and in situ hydrothermal treatment. The direct electrochemistry and electrocatalysis of hemoglobin in room temperature ionic liquid 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, chitosan and TiO₂-graphene nanocomposite modified glassy carbon electrode were investigated. The biosensor was examined by using UV-vis spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and electrochemical methods. The results indicated that hemoglobin remained its bioactivity on the modified electrode, showing a couple of well-defined and quasi-reversible redox peaks, corresponding to hemoglobin Fe^III/Fe^II couple. The kinetic parameters for the electrode reaction, such as the formal potential (E^o'), the electron transfer rate constant (k_s), the apparent coverage (Γ), and Michaelis–Menten constant (K_m) were evaluated. The biosensor showed good electrochemical responses to the reduction of H₂O₂ in the ranges of 1–1170 μM. The detection limit was 0.3 μM (S/N = 3). The properties of this composite film, together with the bioelectrochemical catalytic activity, could make them useful in the development of bioelectronic devices, and investigation of electrochemistry of other heme proteins at functional interface.     

SYNTHESIS,PROPERTIES AND AN ELECTROACTIVE FILM OF RUTHENIUM(II) COMPLEXES WITH THE PYRIDINE DERIVATIVE LIGAND: trans-[RuCl2(pmp)4].(pmp=3-(PYRROL-1-YLMETHYL)PYRIDINE)

Abstract

In this work we report the synthesis, characterization and electrochemistry of the complex trans-[RuCl₂(pmp)₄], where pmp=3-(pyrrol-l-ylmethyl)pyridine. The complex was characterize by electronic spectroscopy (Λ_max = 404 nm and ε = 27000), vibrational FT-IR spectroscopy, ¹H and ¹³C NMR, showing results typically in agreement with trans geometry. Cyclic voltammetry reveals a redox process centered on the Ru(II) center (E^1/2 = 0.53V vs. NHE), which is electrochemically and chemically reversible. Spectroelectrochemistry shows the progressive disappearance of bands at 404 and 475 nm and the appearance of a new band at 302 nm during the oxidation process. Cyclic voltammetric experiments were performed to characterize the redox properties of the ruthenium complex; its electropolymerization produced a strongly adhesive conducting polymeric film on platinum and palladium electrodes.     

Direct Electron Transfer of Glucose Oxidase and Glucose Biosensor Based on Nano-structural Attapulgite Clay Matrix

The direct electrochemistry of glucose oxidase (GOD) was achieved based on the immobilization of GOD on a natural nano‐structural attapulgite (ATP) clay film modified glassy carbon (GC) electrode. The immobilized GOD displayed a pair of well‐defined quasi‐reversible redox peaks with a formal potential (E^0′) of ?457.5 mV (vs. SCE) in 0.1 mol·L^?1 pH 7.0 phosphate buffer solution. The peak current was linearly dependent on the scan rate, indicating that the direct electrochemistry of GOD in that case was a surface‐controlled process. The immobilized glucose oxidase could retain bioactivity and catalyze the oxidation of glucose in the presence of ferrocene monocarboxylic acid (FMCA) as a mediator with the apparent Michaelis‐Menten constant K^app_m of 1.16 mmol·L^?1. The electrocatalytic response showed a linear dependence on the glucose concentration ranging widely from 5.0×10^?6 to 6.0×10^?4 mol·L^?1 (with correlation coefficient of 0.9960). This work demonstrated that the nano‐structural attapulgite clay was a good candidate material for the direct electrochemistry of the redox‐active enzyme and the construction of the related enzyme biosensors. The proposed biosensors were applied to determine the glucose in blood and urine samples with satisfactory results.     

Regulation of the Cyanobacterial Circadian Clock by Electrochemically Controlled Extracellular Electron Transfer

There is growing awareness that circadian clocks are closely related to the intracellular redox state across a range of species. As the redox state is determined by the exchange of the redox species, electrochemically controlled extracellular electron transfer (EC‐EET), a process in which intracellular electrons are exchanged with extracellular electrodes, is a promising approach for the external regulation of circadian clocks. Herein, we discuss whether the circadian clock can be regulated by EC‐EET using the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC7942 as a model system. In vivo monitoring of chlorophyll fluorescence revealed that the redox state of the plastoquionone pool could be controlled with EC‐EET by simply changing the electrode potential. As a result, the endogenous circadian clock of S. elongatus cells was successfully entrained through periodically modulated EC‐EET by emulating the natural light/dark cycle, even under constant illumination conditions. This is the first example of regulating the biological clock by electrochemistry.     

Voltammetric studies of microcrystalline C60 adhered to a carbon electrode surface and placed in contact with aqueous electrolyte containing potassium ions

The reduction of microcrystalline C₆₀ fullerene, adhered at a carbon electrode and immersed in aqueous electrolyte, has been studied under various voltammetric conditions. This work reports mainly the voltammetric studies carried out principally in electrolyte containing potassium ions. Comparison of adherence techniques, such as solvent casting and mechanical transfer methods, are made to assess if the type of adhered techniques has any significant influence on the observed electrochemistry. The solvent casting method is found to produce three peaks in the potential for C₆₀^0/n- redox couple as compared to a single and large peak produced when a mechanical transfer technique is employed. When the reduction potential of microcrystalline C₆₀ in the presence of K⁺ is compared with other cations, such as Li, Na, Rb and Cs, it is observed that the shift of reduction potential follows the change in the hydration energy in the order Cs>Rb>K>Na>Li. In a mixed electrolyte study of CsCl/KCl, the reduction potential and peak shape of C₆₀^0/n- redox couple during cyclic voltammetry is observed to change with concentration of the cations and the observed electrochemistry can be attributed to a cation-exchange mechanism. The reduction of C₆₀ is irreversible in aqueous electrolyte containing alkaline cations as the re-oxidation process does not produce any observed electro-activity. Evidence of the formation of a passive coating of K _n C₆₀ fulleride, which does not appear to undergo dissolution is obtained under cyclic voltametric conditions. This coating remains electrochemically active in the presence of tetrabutylammonium ions in acetonitrile. Scan rate, chronocoulometric, and scanning electron microscopic studies provide evidence of the presence of a surface process involving solid–solid transformation.     

UV-ozone dry-cleaning process for indium oxide electrodes for protein electrochemistry

The present study reports, for the first time, on electrochemical responses of cytochrome c at a UV-ozone treated indium oxide electrode. Results from surface tension measurements indicate that UV-ozone treatment is an efficient cleaning procedure to remove organic species contamination on surfaces. Well-defined redox responses for cytochrome c were observed at a UV-ozone treated fully hydrophilic indium oxide electrode. Electrochemical parameters, including the diffusion coefficient, the heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant and the redox potential, were in good agreement with those previously reported. However, decrease in peak current for cytochrome c and [Fe(CN)₆]⁴⁻ were observed at a UV-ozone treated electrode. From XPS results, this behavior would be understood to indicate a decrease in homogeneous active electrode surface area by a decrease in conductivity of the indium oxide surface by UV-ozone treatment. Simple and effective UV-ozone treatment methods are useful for surface contamination sensitive electrochemistry.     

Preparation and characterization of Ca1 − x Ce x MnO3 perovskite electrodes

The electrochemical properties of Ca_1 − x Ce _x MnO₃ perovskite-type oxide electrode have been investigated by cyclic voltammetry in Na₂SO₄ aqueous solutions with pH 14. The structural and morphological characterizations have also been investigated and the information used to interpret the electrochemical behavior. An estimation of the electrode’s capacitance and roughness factor has been obtained by means of cyclic voltammetry. The specific capacitance and consequently the roughness factor values are affected by the presence of Ce ions in the oxide. These findings are in agreement with the increase of the oxide-specific surface area by the introduction of Ce ion. The open-circuit potential and the voltammetric patterns are dependent on the presence of Ce ion in the electrodes and support that the surface electrochemistry of the perovskite oxide electrodes is governed by the Mn⁴⁺–Mn³⁺ redox couple.     

Single microparticle applied in magnetic-switchable electrochemistry

In this work we demonstrated the micromanipulation of a single magnetic microparticle (Fe₃O₄) modified with Prussian blue (PB) for use in magnetic-switchable electrochemistry. A single Fe₃O₄-PB microparticle with 120 μm was isolated in an electrochemical microcell (20 μL), in which a fine control of PB electrochemical process on carbon electrode (Ø = 4.0 mm) was obtained. For cyclic voltammetry, redox processes attributed to PB/PW (Prussian blue/Prussian white) one electron redox couple were observed, however the capacitive currents were very high. On the other hand, by using differential pulse voltammetry, a maximum faradaic current for anodic peak of 200 nA cm^− 2 at 0.06 V was observed. Several and high stable chronoamperograms were obtained by “switch on” and “switch off” magnetic commutative states for a single microparticle, showing that the system developed here can be very promising for application in electrochemistry.     

Redox reactions in lipid bilayers and membrane bioenergetics

This paper begins with a consideration of electronic processes in ultrathin artificial bilayer lipid membranes (BLM) and biomembranes of chloroplasts and mitochondria. Methods and materials used in the study of BLMs are described next. The results of recent experiments, as obtained by voltammetric techniques, are summarized. The remaining sections of the paper deal with the application of basic electrochemistry to membrane research, in particular, the Eyring equation, the Butler-Volmer equation and the Tafel equation, and the origin of electronic processes in membranes in terms of electrostenolysis. The paper concludes with a discussion on the determination of standard potentials (U_o′) of redox protein components in the absence of the lipid bilayer, and finally a suggestion of the future experiments in relation to electron-transfer and bioredox reactions in bilayer lipid membranes.     

Direct Electrochemistry of Catalase at a Gold Electrode Modified with Single‐Wall Carbon Nanotubes

The direct electrochemistry of catalase (Ct) was accomplished at a gold electrode modified with single‐wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). A pair of well‐defined redox peaks was obtained for Ct with the reduction peak potential at ?0.414 V and a peak potential separation of 32 mV at pH 5.9. Both reflectance FT‐IR spectra and the dependence of the reduction peak current on the scan rate revealed that Ct adsorbed onto the SWNT surfaces. The redox wave corresponds to the Fe(III)/Fe(II) redox center of the heme group of the Ct adsorbate. Compared to other types of carbonaceous electrode materials (e.g., graphite and carbon soot), the electron transfer rate of Ct redox reaction was greatly enhanced at the SWNT‐modified electrode. The peak current was found to increase linearly with the Ct concentration in the range of 8×10^?6–8×10^?5 M used for the electrode preparation and the peak potential was shown to be pH dependent. The catalytic activity of Ct adsorbates at the SWNTs appears to be retained, as the addition of H₂O₂ produced a characteristic catalytic redox wave. This work demonstrates that direct electrochemistry of redox‐active biomacromolecules such as metalloenzymes can be improved through the use of carbon nanotubes.     

Direct Voltammetric Determination of Redox‐Active Iron in Carbon Nanotubes

With the advances in nanotechnology over the past decade, consumer products are increasingly being incorporated with carbon nanotubes (CNTs). As the harmful effects of CNTs are suggested to be primarily due to the bioavailable amounts of metallic impurities, it is vital to detect and quantify these species using sensitive and facile methods. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the possibility of quantifying the amount of redox‐available iron‐containing impurities in CNTs with voltammetric techniques such as cyclic voltammetry. We examined the electrochemistry of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles in phosphate buffer solution and discovered that its electrochemical behavior could be affected by pH of the electrolyte. By utilizing the unique redox reaction between the iron and phosphate species, the redox available iron content in CNTs was determined successfully using voltammetry.     

Electrochemical Characterization of (ZnO/dsDNA)n Layer-by-layer Films and Detection of Natural DNA Oxidative Damage

The positively charged nano‐ZnO and negatively charged natural DNA were alternately adsorbed on the surface of a gold electrode, forming (ZnO/dsDNA)_nlayer‐by‐layer films. Valuable dynamic information for controlling the formation and growth of the films was obtained by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Differential pulse voltammetric (DPV) measurements showed that the electroactive probe methylene blue (MB) could be loaded in the (ZnO/dsDNA)_nfilms from its solution, and then released from the films into Britton‐Robinson (B‐R) buffer. The complete reloading of MB in the films could be realized by immersing the films in MB solution again. However, after incubation in the solution of carcinogenic metal nickel, the damaged (ZnO/dsDNA)_n films could not return to their original and fully‐loaded state, and showed smaller DPV peak currents. The results demonstrated that the DNA damage induced by the hydroxyl radical could be achieved by electrochemistry.