A new study of the enzymatic hydrolysis of carboxymethyl cellulose with a bulk acoustic wave sensor

A new bulk acoustic wave (BAW) cellulase sensing technique, which is based on the enzymatic hydrolysis process of sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) by cellulase, was established. The frequency shift curves of BAW sensor indicated that the viscosity of the tested solutions decreased during the hydrolysis process. The hydrolysis rate of CMC by cellulase was calculated from the frequency shift curves. The hydrolysis rate of CMC under different pH conditions at 30°C showed that cellulase had high hydrolysis ability approximately at pH 5.0. Kinetic parameters (the Michaelis constant K_m and the maximum rate V_max) of the process were estimated by using a linear method of Lineweaver–Burk plot. K_m is 1.95±0.25 mg ml⁻¹ and V_max is −(4.25±0.58)×10⁻³ g^1/2 cm^−3/2 cP^1/2 min⁻¹. Also the activation energy (E_a) of the enzymatic hydrolysis, with a value of 51.99±1.26 kJ mol⁻¹, was estimated in this work.     

Rapid detection of Escherichia coliform with a bulk acoustic wave sensor based on the gelation of Tachypleus amebocyte lysate

A new sensing method (BAW-TAL technique), which combined the bulk acoustic wave (BAW) technique with the gelation reaction of Tachypleus amebocyte lysate (TAL), was used for viscosity and density measurement and applied to the detection of Escherichia coliform (E. coli). This method depended on the fact that the viscosity and density of the mixture increased, and as a result, the resonance frequency decreased correspondingly after TAL was mixed with the heated E. coli solution that contained endotoxin. Results showed that the frequency shift was linearly related to the logarithm of E. coli concentration in the range of 2.7x10(4)-2.7x10(8) cells/ml. The correlation coefficient was 0.996. This BAW-TAL method was compared with the standard pour plate counts (PPC) method. The proposed method was much more rapid and simpler for detection of E. coli than the traditional methods.