Feasibility Study of Introducing Redox Property by Modification of PMBN Polymer for Biofuel Cell Applications

In this study, the feasibility of introducing redox property to an amphiphilic phospholipid polymer (PMBN) was investigated. The active ester group in the side chain of the polymer was used to react with pyrroloquinoline quinine (PQQ). Redox peaks that corresponded to PQQ redox potentials were observed after the modification. Glucose oxidase was immobilized to the modified polymer. Electrochemical oxidation of glucose was carried out with the polymer electrode. The oxidation current increased with elevating glucose concentration indicating electron transfer established between the electrode and enzyme. It suggests that by modification, PMBN is possible to use for enzyme electrode for bioelectronics.     

A Novel Amperometric Transducer Electrode with Iridium‐Niobium Binary Alloys

We have discovered that an Ir‐23Nb binary alloy more effectively oxidizes hydrogen peroxide than Ir, Ir‐13Nb, Ir‐17Nb, Ir‐30Nb, Ir‐43Nb, Ir‐62Nb, or Nb. The oxidation capability was determined via cyclic voltammogram measurements of pH‐buffer and hydrogen peroxide. We ascertained that applying a 0.7 V potential produces hydrogen peroxide currents of 9.2 μA/mm² Ir‐23Nb, 5.3 μA/mm² Ir, 5.1 μA/mm² Ir‐17Nb, 3.7 μA/mm² Ir‐13Nb, 2.0 μA/mm² Ir‐30Nb, 1.5 μA/mm² Ir‐43Nb, 0.6 μA/mm² Ir‐62Nb, and 0.13 μA/mm² Nb. These results indicate that the effective oxidation of Ir‐23Nb for hydrogen peroxide might be due to its fcc+L1₂ two‐phase structure and that Ir‐23Nb can be used as an amperometric transducer material.     

Metal‐Ion Selectivity of Chemically Modified Uracil Pairs in DNA Duplexes

DNA duplexes containing 5‐modified uracil pairs (5‐bromo, 5‐fluoro, and 5‐cyanouracil) bind selectivity to metal ions. Their selectivity is sensitive to the pH value of the solution (see picture), as the acidities of the modified uracil bases vary according to the electron‐withdrawing properties of the substituents.

     

Single-shot full-field interferometric polarimeter with an integrated calibration scheme

A simple interferometric polarimeter with an integrated calibration scheme is proposed for accurate and fast mapping of the state of polarization (SOP). Conventional single-shot polarimeters that detect the amplitude and phase of orthogonally polarized field components by interferometry using Fourier fringe analysis suffers from errors caused by the imperfect reference beam and ambiguity in the spatial carrier frequency in the fringe pattern. In the proposed system, the integrated calibration scheme eliminates those error sources and enables accurate measurement of SOP without prior knowledge of the reference beam and the spatial carrier frequency.