A potentiometric polypyrrole-based glucose biosensor

A new concept is described for monitoring a biomolecule with a sensor having an enzyme entrapped in a conducting polymer. This is based on the sensitivity of the electroactive polymer itself to changes of pH in solution. The concept has been investigated for a glucose sensor with glucose oxidase (GOD) immobilized in a polypyrrole (PPy) layer on an inert platinum electrode. Measurements with a Pt/PPy/GOD electrode for glucose concentrations in the physiological range gave a linear correlation with logarithm of concentration over one decade with a satisfactory dynamic response. There was practically no change of slope or range of linear response to glucose after several days of use; this was in contrast to the amperometric response of the detector when there was about a 50% loss of sensitivity.     

Glucose Biosensor Using Glucose Oxidase Immobilized in Polyaniline

A biosensor for glucose utilizing kinetics of glucose oxidase (EC 1.1.3.4.) was developed. The enzyme was immobilized on polyaniline by covalent bonding, using glutaraldehyde as a bifunctional agent. The system showed a linear response up to 2.2 mM of glucose with a response time of 2.5–4.0 min. In addition, the immobilized enzyme had a higher activity between pH 6.5 and 7.5. The system retained 50% of its activity after 30 d of daily use. The optical absorption spectra of the polyaniline/glucose oxidase electrode after glucose had been added to the buffer solution showed that the absorption band around 800 nm had changed considerably when glucose was allowed to react with the electrode. This optical variation makes polyaniline a very promising polymer for use as a support in optical sensor for clinical application.     

Thin-film biosensor for the measurement of glucose concentration in human serum and urine

Solid-state technology and pulse electroplating were used to fabricate a glucose biosensor based on hydrogen peroxide detection. This glucose biosensor was composed of thin-film electrodes, and enzyme-immobilized and deactivated enzyme-immobilized membranes. The electrodes were fabricated by metallic film deposition. Cr and Ni adhesive layers were applied successively by vapour deposition on the thermally oxidized SiO₂ isolating layer on a silicon substrate, and then the two metallic layers were patterned by the photolithographic method. Subsequently, a 1 μm thick Au layer was applied by means of pulse electroplating, forming two anodes and one common cathode in each sensor chip. On one anode, glucose oxidase (GOD) was immobilized by cross-linking with bovin serum albumin and glutaraldehyde. A deactivated GOD-immobilized membrane was formed on the other anode, which worked as a reference working electrode. A novel differential measurement system was used to treat the output signals of the two anodes by adjusting the initial position of the response curves, compensating amplifications of the individual I—V converters and treating the output signals with a subtraction circuit in order to decrease measurement error. The test results showed that the signal of ascorbic acid up to 4.5 mmol 1⁻¹ or uric acid up to 1.2 mmol 1⁻¹ was successfully cancelled. Glucose concentrations in the range 0.02–4.0 mmol/1 could be detected and an excellent linear response was obtained in the low concentration range. The correlation coefficient between the result of the enzyme electrode and the clinically enzymatic method for glucose measurement in human serum was 0.9912. Correlated results between the biosensor method and the routine clinical method for the measurement of glucose concentration in urine were obtained. The lifetime of the enzyme electrode was over 2 months.     

Entrapment of glucose oxidase in non-porous poly(vinyl chloride)

We have used solvent casting techniques to immobilise glucose oxidase (GOD) within unplasticised and plasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) matrices. The plasticisers studied were the cationic surfactant, tricaprylmethylammonium chloride (Aliquat 336s), the anionic surfactant bis(2-ethylhexyl) hydrogenphosphate (BEP) and the lipid, isopropylmyristate (IPM). The activity of the enzyme-membrane was tested by amperometric electrode. Changes in enzyme-membrane electrode response are rationalised on the basis of membrane permselective properties. The Aliquat and IPM modified PVC membranes gave amplified signals due to better retention and subsequent concentration of the H₂O₂ signal species. Effectively, less was being lost to the bulk solution. In the case of the BEP-modified membrane, while there was a linear step change in response up to 50 mM, at higher concentrations, responses did not reach steady-state; they were characterised by an upward drift in response of 0.050 nA/min. This characteristic is thought to be due to a build up of gluconic acid resulting in a pH reduction in the membrane microenvironment and hydrogen bonding between neighbouring BEP molecules. Under these conditions, we have previously shown that the membrane permeability to hydrophilic species is attenuated and it is tentatively suggested that the upward drift due to the build up of H₂O₂ on the electrode side with less permeating through the acidified membrane into bulk solution.The results were compared against using variously plasticised PVC (but no enzyme entrapped) as an outer membrane of a classical dual-membrane glucose enzyme electrode construct. In the latter case, the enzyme was chemically crosslinked between the membranes using glutaraldehyde.     

Mesoporous MnO2 as enzyme immobilization host for amperometric glucose biosensor construction

Mesoporous MnO₂ (mesoMnO₂) is synthesized facilely through sol–gel process using nonionic surfactant polyxyethylene fatty alcohol (AEO₉) as template. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image and N₂ adsorption/desorption isotherm show that the obtained mesoMnO₂ material presents disordered porous structure and appropriate pore size suitable for the immobilization of glucose oxidase (GOx). An amperometric glucose biosensor based on GOx entrapped in mesoMnO₂ is fabricated, in which mesoMnO₂ also acts as a catalyst for the electrochemical oxidation of H₂O₂ produced by enzyme reaction. The biosensor shows fast and sensitive current response to glucose in the linear range of 0.0009–2.73 mM. The response time (t_95%) is less than 7 s. The sensitivity and detection limit are 24.2 μA cm⁻² mM⁻¹ and 1.8 × 10⁻⁷ M (S/N = 3), respectively. This indicates that mesoMnO₂ has promising application in enzyme immobilization and biosensor construction.     

Development of a long-life capillary enzyme bioreactor for the determination of blood glucose

A long-life capillary enzyme bioreactor was developed that determines glucose concentrations with high sensitivity and better stability than previous systems. The bioreactor was constructed by immobilizing glucose oxidase (GOx) onto the inner surface of a 0.53 mm i.d. fused-silica capillary that was part of a continuous-flow system. In the presence of oxygen, GOx converts glucose to gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Hydrogen peroxide detection was accomplished using an amperometric electrochemical detector. The integration of this capillary reactor into a flow-injection (FIA) system offered a larger surface-to-volume ratio, reduced band-broadening effects, and reduced reagent consumption compared to packed column in FIA or other settings. To obtain operational (at ambient temp) and storage (at 4 °C) stability for 20 weeks, the glucose biosensing system was prepared using an optimal GOx concentration (200 mg/mL). This exhibited an FIA peak response of 7 min and a detection limit of 10 μM (S/N = 3) with excellent reproducibility (coefficient of variation, CV < 0.75%). It also had a linear working range from 10¹ to 10⁴ μM. The enzyme activity in this proposed capillary enzyme reactor was well maintained for 20 weeks. Furthermore, 20 serum samples were analyzed using this system, and these correlated favorably (correlation coefficient, r² = 0.935) with results for the same samples obtained using a routine clinical method. The resulting biosensing system exhibited characteristics that make it suitable for in vivo application.     

A Neural Network Model in the Calibration of Glucose Sensor Based on the Immobilization of Glucose Oxidase into Polypyrrole Matrix

The immobilization of enzymes on an electrode surface is of great importance in bioelectrochemistry. The entrapment of enzymes into a polymer matrix is simple and a speedy technique for the production of biosensors. This procedure of enzyme immobilization by electropolymerization has a great significance in fabrication of micro sensors in the preparation of multiplayer devices. In current study, glucose oxidase enzyme that is specific for the glucose determination was entrapped into polypyrrole matrix containing p‐benzoquinone in PIPES buffer and glucose sensitivity of the biosensor was investigated. Then, artificial neural network analysis was done for the nonlinear calibration plot. This implementation can be used for the sensor failure detection, as well. The estimation power of the neural network used in the direct and inverse calibration modelling was examined by statistical methods. It presented the good performance for the estimation power.     

过氧化氢在磺酸二茂铁掺杂的聚苯胺上的电催化氧化

在含有磺酸二茂铁溶液中合成的聚苯胺（PAnFc）和不含磺酸二茂铁溶液中合成的聚苯胺（PAn）,在pH 5.0的缓冲溶液中均能催化过氧化氢的氧化,但PAnFc的催化活性高于PAn.催化效应的证据是过氧化氢在裸铂电极上的氧化电位为0.59 V(vs SCE),而在PAnFc电极仅是0.48 V,以及过氧化氢在PAnFc电极上的阳极峰电流是裸铂电极上的5.3倍.根据这种催化特性,用PAn和PAnFc固定葡萄糖氧化酶形成酶电极.实验结果表明,PAnFc酶电极的响应电流比PAn酶电极高得多,而且响应快.这是由于PAnFc在pH 5.0缓冲液中的电化学活性高于PAn,以及掺杂在聚苯胺中的磺酸二茂铁起着重要的电荷传递作用.     

Development of monolithic enzymatic reactors in glass microchips for the quantitative determination of enzyme substrates using the example of glucose determination via immobilized glucose oxidase

A one-step procedure for the immobilization of glucose oxidase in fused-silica capillaries and in glass microchips was developed based on enzyme entrapment in a polyacrylamide-based monolithic column. The inner capillary surface was silanized with gamma-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (gamma-MAPS) to allow covalent binding of the gel to the surface. The composition of the polymer was optimized to prevent the formation of bubbles, allow liquid transportation by electroosmotic flow and to maintain the enzymatic activity. These requirements resulted in the addition of polyethylene glycol and poly(acrylic acid) to the acrylamide mixture. The gel containing the enzyme was formed in situ in the capillaries, respectively, in one channel of the microchip. In the microchip, it was limited to the sample injection channel by accordingly controlled silanization of the inner capillary surface. Glucose was detected via the amperometric determination of hydrogen peroxide. A linear correlation between signals and glucose concentration was observed from 0.05 to 1.1 mM glucose with a correlation coefficient of 0.999. The enzymatic monolithic microreactor showed no loss of activity during 8 h of continuous use and during storage in the running buffer at 4 degrees C for about 2 months. Interferents, such as ascorbic acid, were separated from the analyte electrophoretically, so that glucose could be quantified in diluted juices.     

Highly Sensitive Amperometric Glucose Biosensor Based on Glassy Carbon Electrode with Copper/Palladium Coating

A highly sensitive amperometric glucose biosensor based on immobilizing glucose oxidase in electropolymerized poly(o‐phenylenediamine) film on glassy carbon electrode coated sequentially with copper and palladium layers has been developed. The steady‐state amperometric response to glucose was determined by means of the oxidation of hydrogen peroxide generated by the enzymatic reaction at a potential of either +0.70 or +0.40 V (vs. Ag|AgCl reference). The deposited copper/palladium layer showed great enhancement in the performance of the enzyme electrode, possibly due to its better electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen peroxide oxidation and large surface area. Effects of the relative loading of palladium, enzyme and polymer on the electrode performance were examined in detail. Sensitivity and detection limit for glucose determinations at +0.70 V were about 7.3 μA/mM and 0.1 μM, respectively. A wide linear range up to 6.0 mM glucose could be achieved. Electrode performance was superior to similar works reported in the literature. The response time was less than 2 s and its lifetime was longer than three months. The permeable polyphenylenediamine film also offered good anti‐interference ability to ascorbic acid, uric acid and acetaminophen, especially when a detection potential of +0.40 V was employed.     

Catalytic amplification based on hole-transporting materials as efficient metal-free electrocatalysts for non-enzymatic glucose sensing

Hole-transporting materials with tunable structures and properties are mainly applied in organic light-emitting diodes as transport layer. But their catalytic properties as signal amplifiers in biological assays are seldom reported. In this paper, a starburst molecule, 4,4,4″-tri(N-carbazolyl)-triphenylamine (TCT), containing a triphenylamine as the central core and three carbazoles as the peripheral functional groups was designed and synthesized. Subsequently, the hole-transporting material based on the TCT polymer, poly(TCT) (PTCT), was achieved via a low-cost electrochemical method and exploited as an efficient metal-free electrocatalyst for non-enzymatic glucose detection. Here, this hole-transporting material served three purposes: electrochemical recognition (owing to hydrogen bonding interaction and the biomimetic microenvironment created by the polymer), electrocatalysis (owing to the hole-transporting capability of triphenylamine and the catalytic property of carbazole), and signal amplification (owing to energy migration along the conductive polymer backbone). The electrocatalytic and sensing performances of the sensor based on PTCT were evaluated in detail. Results revealed that the PTCT film could efficiently catalyze the oxidation of glucose at a less-positive potential (+0.20 V) in the absence of any enzymes. The response to glucose was linear in the concentration range of 1.0–6000 μM, and the detection limit was 0.20 μM. With good stability and selectivity, the proposed sensor could be feasibly applied to detect glucose in practical samples. The encouraging sensing performances suggest that the hole-transporting material is one of the promising biomimetic catalysts for electrocatalysis and relevant fields.     

Composite Material Based on Macroporous Polyaniline and Osmium Redox Complex for Biosensor Development

Here the feasibility of layers based on the conducting polymer polyaniline (PANI) as component of glucose biosensors using glucose oxidase (GOx) as enzyme and [Os(bpy)₂(4‐aminomethylpyridine)Cl]PF₆ (OsCmplx) as electrochemical mediator, is evaluated. Particularly, PANI was employed to obtain a nanostructured macroporous material (m‐PANI) around polystyrene nanoparticles taken as template and the mediator was co‐immobilized during the polymerizing procedure. The GOx biosensor based on OsCmplx modified m‐PANI provides a linear response to glucose concentration in the range 5 up to 65 mM with a sensitivity of 3.54 µA/mM/cm² (on a projected geometric area=0.07 cm²), an LOD of 0.8 mM and a good precision (%RSD≤7, n=5); the biosensor is stable showing a decrease of 10% to the value of the sensitivity after 15 days of use and of about 50% after 40 days.     

Electrochemical Redundant Microsensor Arrays for Glucose Monitoring with Patterned Polymer Films

Redundant microsensor arrays for glucose sensing were fabricated using photopolymerization of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEG‐DA) with 2‐hydroxy‐2‐methyl phenyl‐propanone as photoinitiator to encapsulate the enzyme glucose oxidase. Silicon micro fabrication technologies were used to fabricate microelectrode sensor arrays on flexible polyimide sheets. These microarray sensors were individually addressable as observed using square‐wave voltammetry. Redox polymer, poly[4‐vinylpyridine Os(bipyridine)₂Cl]‐co‐ethylamine, was first immobilized on the electrode surface and then glucose oxidase was entrapped in PEG‐DA hydrogels. The redox polymer was found to exchange electrons with glucose oxidase in biocompatible PEG‐DA hydrogels. The entrapped glucose oxidase was found to respond linearly to glucose in solution (0–20 mM) as determined using square‐wave voltammetry.     

An optical glucose biosensor based on entrapped-glucose oxidase in silicate xerogel hybridised with hydroxyethyl carboxymethyl cellulose

An optical glucose biosensor was fabricated by entrapping glucose oxidase (GOx) within the xerogel that was derived from tetraethylorthosilicate and hybridised with hydroxyethyl carboxymethyl cellulose polymer. The entrapped-GOx was mainly characterised with its long-lasting apparent biocatalytic activity as compared to that being entrapped in only sol-gel matrix. The biocatalytic activity of the entrapped-enzyme has extended its shelf lifetime up to 3 years. This long-term stability was closely correlated with the reduction in the shrinkage process of the hybrid gel being used. In conjunction with an optical oxygen transducer, the entrapped-GOx was assembled as an optical glucose biosensor comprised a sample flow system with which the dissolved oxygen in the sample could be precisely controlled and varied. The analytical working range was tuneable within 9.0 μM-100 mM range depending on the dissolved oxygen concentration in the test solution. The time taken to reach a 95% steady signal was 6-9 min at flow rate of 1.0 mL min⁻¹. The glucose biosensor has been satisfactorily applied to the determination of glucose contents of urine samples.     

A rapid and easy procedure of biosensor fabrication by micro-encapsulation of enzyme in hydrophilic synthetic latex films. Application to the amperometric determination of glucose

Novel enzyme electrodes based on synthetic hydrophilic latex matrices are described for the detection of glucose. Glucose oxidase was immobilised through micro-encapsulation, by the simple adsorption of enzyme–latex suspensions on the surface of a platinum electrode. Two latex films functionalised by a hydroxy or a gluconamide group were used. The response of these biosensors to glucose additions was measured by potentiostating the modified electrodes at 0.6 V/SCE in order to oxidise the hydrogen peroxide generated by the enzymatic oxidation of glucose in the presence of dioxygen. The response of such electrodes was evaluated as a function of film thickness and temperature. The sensitivity for a two-layer latex-based biosensor was found to be 38.78 mA M⁻¹ cm⁻² with a response time of 3–5 s. Moreover, a marked improvement of the thermal stability of the biosensor was observed. Only at temperatures higher than 65°C the enzyme started to be denatured and being inactive.     

A blood-assisted optical biosensor for automatic glucose determination

A new approach for glucose determination in blood based on the spectroscopic properties of blood hemoglobin (Hb) is presented. The biosensor consists of a glucose oxidase (GOx) entrapped polyacrylamide (PAA) film placed in a flow cell. Blood is simply diluted with bidistilled water (150:1, v:v) and injected into the carrier solution. When reaching the PAA film, the blood glucose reacts with the GOx and the resulting H₂O₂ reacts with the blood Hb. This produces an absorbance change in this compound. The GOx-PAA film can be used at least 100 times. Lateral reactions of H₂O₂ with other blood constituents are easily blocked (by azide addition). The linear response range can be fitted between 20 and 1200 mg dL⁻¹ glucose (R.S.D. 4%, 77 mg dL⁻¹). In addition to the use of untreated blood, two important analytical aspects of the method are: (1) the analyte concentration can be obtained by an absolute calibration method; and (2) the signal is not dependent on the oxygen concentration.A mathematical model relating the Hb absorbance variation during the reaction with the glucose concentration has been developed to provide theoretical support and to predict its application to other compounds after changing the GOx by another enzyme. The method has been applied to direct glucose determination in 10 blood samples, and a correlation coefficient higher than 0.98 was obtained after comparing the results with those determined by an automatic analyzer. As well as sharing some of the advantages of disposable amperometric biosensors, the most significant feature of this approach is its reversibility.     

A glucose biosensor using methyl viologen redox mediator on carbon film electrodes

A new methyl viologen-mediated amperometric enzyme electrode sensitive to glucose has been developed using carbon film electrode substrates. Carbon film electrodes from resistors fabricated by pyrolytic deposition of carbon were modified by immobilization of glucose oxidase through cross-linking with glutaraldehyde in the presence of bovine serum albumin. The mediator, methyl viologen, was directly immobilised with the enzyme together with Nafion cation-exchange polymer. The electrochemistry of the glucose oxidase/methyl viologen modified electrode was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The biosensor response to glucose was evaluated amperometrically; the detection limit was 20 μM, the linear range extended to 1.2 mM and the reproducibility of around 3%. When stored in phosphate buffer at 4 °C and used every day, the sensor showed good stability over more several weeks.     

A glucose electrode for fermentation control

An oxygen-stabilized enzyme electrode was applied to monitor the glucose concentration in a fermentor during a batch culture ofCandida utilis. The electrode contains an electrolysis circuit for generation of oxygen within the enzyme layer that keeps the oxygen activity in that layer at the same level as that of the surrounding broth. The electrolysis current is used as a measure of the glucose concentration in the broth. The glucose analysis continued without major disturbances when the dissolved oxygen pressure gradually decreased during the fermentation and also when the broth was subjected to a sudden increase in dissolved oxygen tension. The electrode could also be used in an anaerobic broth. Then the reference electrode was replaced by a constant reference potential that simulated a reference oxygen activity.     

Design variations of a polymer–enzyme composite biosensor for glucose: Enhanced analyte sensitivity without increased oxygen dependence

The glucose sensitivity and oxygen dependence of a variety of implantable biosensors based on glucose oxidase (GOx), incorporating an electrosynthesized poly-o-phenylenediamine (PPD) permselective barrier on 125-μm diameter Pt disks (Pt_D) and cylinders (Pt_C, 1-mm length), were measured and compared. Full glucose calibrations and experimental monitoring of solution oxygen concentration allowed us to determine apparent Michaelis–Menten parameters for glucose and oxygen. In the linear region of glucose response, the most sensitive biosensor design studied was Pt_D/PPD/GOx (enzyme deposited over polymer) that was 20 times more sensitive than the more widely used Pt_C/GOx/PPD (enzyme immobilized before polymer deposition) configuration. The oxygen dependence, quantified as K_M(O₂), of both active and less active designs was surprisingly similar, a finding that could be rationalized in terms of an increase in K_M(G) with increased enzyme loading. The Pt_D/PPD/GOx design will now enable us to explore glucose concentration dynamics in smaller and layered brain regions with good sensitivity and minimal interference from fluctuations in tissue pO₂.     

Simultaneous detection of lactate and glucose by integrated printed circuit board based array sensing chip

An integrated printed circuit board (PCB) based array sensing chip was developed to simultaneously detect lactate and glucose in mouse serum. The novelty of the chip relies on a concept demonstration of inexpensive high-throughput electronic biochip, a chip design for high signal to noise ratio and high sensitivity by construction of positively charged chitosan/redox polymer Polyvinylimidazole-Os (PVI-Os)/carbon nanotube (CNT) composite sensing platform, in which the positively charged chitosan/PVI-Os is mediator and electrostatically immobilizes the negatively charged enzyme, while CNTs function as an essential cross-linker to network PVI-Os and chitosan due to its negative charged nature. Additional electrodes on the chip with the same sensing layer but without enzymes were prepared to correct the interferences for high specificity. Low detection limits of 0.6 μM and 5 μM were achieved for lactate and glucose, respectively. This work could be extended to inexpensive array sensing chips with high sensitivity, good specificity and high reproducibility for various sensor applications.