Feasibility of application of conductometric biosensor based on acetylcholinesterase for the inhibitory analysis of toxic compounds of different nature

This study was aimed at the development of a conductometric biosensor based on acetylcholinesterase considering the feasibility of its application for the inhibitory analysis of various toxicants. In this paper, the optimum conditions for enzyme immobilization on the transducer surface are selected as well as the optimum concentration of substrate for inhibitory analysis. Sensitivity of the developed biosensor to different classes of toxic compounds (organophosphorus pesticides, heavy metal ions, surfactants, aflatoxin, glycoalkaloids) was tested. It is shown that the developed biosensor can be successfully used for the analysis of pesticides and mycotoxins, as well as for determination of total toxicity of the samples. A new method of biosensor analysis of toxic substances of different classes in complex multicomponent aqueous samples is proposed.     

Trends in the detection of pharmaceuticals and endocrine-disrupting compounds by Field-Effect Transistors (FETs)

Field-effect transistors (FETs) are one of the most widely-used electronic sensors for continuous monitoring and detection of contaminants such as pharmaceuticals and endocrine-disrupting compounds at low concentrations. FETs have been successfully utilized for the rapid analysis of these environmental pollutants due to their advantageous material properties like the disposability, rapid responses and simplicity. This paper presented an up-to-date overview of applied strategies with different bio-based materials in order to enhance the analytical performances of the designed sensors. Comparison and discussion were made between characteristics of recently engineered FET bio-sensors used for the detection of famous and selected pharmaceutical compounds in the literature. The recent progress in environmental research applications, comments on interesting trends, current challenge for future research in endocrine-disrupting chemicals’ (EDCs) detection using FETs biosensors were highlighted.     

A Biosilification Fusion Protein for a ‘Self‐immobilising’ Sarcosine Oxidase Amperometric Enzyme Biosensor

Monomeric sarcosine oxidase (mSOx) fusion with the silaffin peptide, R5, designed previously for easy protein production in low resource areas, was used in a biosilification process to form an enzyme layer electrode biosensor. mSOx is a low activity enzyme (10–20 U/mg) requiring high amounts of enzyme to obtain an amperometric biosensor signal, in the clinically useful range <1 mM sarcosine, especially since the K_m is >10 mM. An amperometric biosensor model was fitted to experimental data to investigate dynamic range. mSOx constructs were designed with 6H (6×histidine) and R5 (silaffin) peptide tags and compared with native mSOx. Glutaraldehyde (GA) cross‐linked proteins retained ～5 % activity for mSOx and mSOx‐6H and only 0.5 % for mSOx‐R5. In contrast R5 catalysed biosilification on (3‐mercaptopropyl) trimethoxysilane (MPTMS) and tetramethyl orthosilicate (TMOS) particles created a ‘self‐immobilisation’ matrix retaining 40 % and 76 % activity respectively. The TMOS matrix produced a thick layer (>500 μm) on a glassy carbon electrode with a mediated current due to sarcosine in the clinical range for sarcosinemia (0–1 mM). The mSOx‐R5 fusion protein was also used to catalyse biosilification in the presence of creatinase and creatininase, entrapping all three enzymes. A mediated GC enzyme linked current was obtained with dynamic range available for creatinine determination of 0.1–2 mM for an enzyme layer ～800 nm.     

Amperometric Detection of Catechol and Catecholamines by Immobilized Laccase from DeniLite

DeniLite laccase immobilized Pt electrode was used for detection of catechol and catecholamines. The enzymatically oxidized substrates were measured amperometrically. The sensitivities are 210, 75, 60 and 45 nA/μM with the upper limits of linear ranges of 58, 40, 55 and 55 μM and the detection limits (S/N=3) of 0.07, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 μM for catechol, dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NEPI) and epinephrine (EPI), respectively. The response time (t_90%) is about 2 seconds for each substrate and the long‐term stability is around 40–50 days with retaining 80% of initial activity. The very fast response and the remarkable long‐term stability are the principal advantages of this sensor. In case of catechol, the pH response of the sensor is mainly determined by enzyme's pH profile, however, in case of catecholamines, both enzyme's pH profile and reversibility of the substrate are operated and the optimal pHs for NEPI and EPI shift towards acidic range compared to that for DA. The presence of ascorbic acid (<50 μM) did not interfere with the measurement.     

Optical Glucose Monitoring Based on Femtosecond Two-Color Pulse Interferometry

We demonstrate the potential of femtosecond two-color pulse interferometry for in vitro optical glucose monitoring, by dispersion of the group refractive index in a glucose solution sample with respect to a red-color light and a blue-color light. By comparison with femtosecond one-color pulse interferometry, the basic performance of the present system with regard to sensitivity, quantitativeness, and tolerance to surrounding disturbances, is evaluated. The resulting accuracy and precision of glucose determination are 77 and 118mg/dl for 10-mm-sample-thickness, respectively. This near-common-path configuration of the two-color pulse light provides good stability to fluctuations of sample temperature, which is important in clinical applications. Considering the performance of femtosecond two-color pulse interferometry as an optical glucose sensor, a suitable measurement site for in vivo optical glucose monitoring is discussed.     

Succinic acid adsorption from fermentation broth and regeneration

More than 25 sorbents were tested for uptake of succinic acid from aqueous solutions. The best resins were then tested for successive loading and regeneration using hotwater. The key desired properties for an ideal sorbent are high capacity, complete stable regenerability, and specificity for the product. The best resins have a stable capacity of about 0.06 g of succinic acid/g of resin at moderate concentrations (1–5 g/L) of succinic acid. Several sorbents were tested more exhaustively for uptake of succinic acid and for successive loading and regeneration using hot water. One resin, XUS 40285, has a good stable isotherm capacity, prefers succinate over glucose, and has good capacities at both acidic and neutral pH. Succinic acid was removed from simulated media containing salts, succinic acid, acetic acid, and sugar using a packed column of sorbent resin, XUS 40285. The fermentation byproduct, acetate, was completely separated from succinate. A simple hot water regeneration successfully concentrated succinate from 10 g/L (inlet) to 40–110 g/L in the effluent. If successful, this would lower separation costs by reducing the need for chemicals for the initial purification step. Despie promising initial results of good capacity (0.06 g of succinic/g of sorbent), 70% recovery using hot water, and a recovered concentration of >100 g/L, this regeneration was not stable over 10 cycles in the column. Alternative regeneration schemes using acid and base were examined. Two (XUS 40285 and XFS-40422) showed both good stable capacities for succinic acid over 10 cycles and >95% recovery in a batch operation using a modified extraction procedure combining acid and hot water washes. These resins showed comparable results with actual broth.     

Phenol biosensor based on electrochemically controlled integration of tyrosinase in a redox polymer

An amperometric biosensor for the detection of phenolic compounds was developed based on the immobilization of tyrosinase within an Os-complex functionalized electrodeposition polymer. Integration of tyrosinase within the redox polymer assures efficient catechol recycling between the enzyme and the polymer bound redox sites. The non-manual immobilization procedure improves the reproducibility of fabrication process, greatly reduces the desorption of the enzyme from the immobilization layer, and, most importantly prevents fast inactivation of the enzyme by its substrate due to fast redox cycling. A two-layer sensor architecture was developed involving ascorbic acid oxidase entrapped within an electrodeposition polymer in a second layer on top of the redox polymer/tyrosinase layer. Using this sensor architecture it was possible to eliminate the current interference arising from direct ascorbate oxidation up to a concentration of 630 μM ascorbic acid. The effects of the polymer thickness, the enzyme/polymer ratio, and the applied potential were evaluated with respect to optimal sensor properties. The sensitivity of the optimized sensors for catechol was 6.1 nA μM⁻¹ with a detection limit of 10 nM, and for phenol 0.15 nA μM⁻¹ with a detection limit of 100 nM.     

核酸识体的研究及应用

核酸识体(aptamer)是近年来发展起来的一类经体外人工进化程序筛选出的寡聚核苷酸。它能高效、特异地结合各种配体，在蛋白质的分析检测、医学诊断治疗、生物传感器和分子开关的开发等方面有很大的应用前景，文章对核酸识体的研究和应用进展进行了综述。     

超分子有机薄膜

利用超分子有机薄膜技术能制成新的传感分子电子器件、光学器件和生物分子器件等，受到跨学科高技术研究领域的重视。本文描述了超分子有机薄膜的制备方法以及在各应用领域的研究状况。重点介绍了我们研究组在近20年工作中，利用LB膜技术，在光电器件、气体传感技术和光学非线性，特别是在生物传感技术方面的研究成果。按照生物体系提供的信息，模拟合成功能分子，建造有组织的分子组装体，以便用来研究依赖于分子排列的生物物理化学效应。     

添加有机肥和葡萄糖对铜毒害旱地红壤微生物生物量的影响

在预培红壤中加入定量的有机肥和葡萄糖及不同浓度的Cu,25℃培养14d，测定了土壤微生物生物量C（Cmic),N(Nmic)。结果表明，存在有机肥和葡萄糖时，土壤中Cmic和Nmic随着Cu浓度的增加而降低；Cmic/Nmic随着Cu浓度的增加而增大。施加有机肥和葡萄糖的土壤中，在所有Cu处理浓度下，土壤中Cmic和Nmic均比未加有机物质处理高，特别是有机肥处理中土壤Cmic和Nmic均比其它处理高得多，说明有机肥可明显减轻Cu对土壤微生物生物量的毒性，同时也说明有机肥可提供微生物N源。不含Cu时，加入有机肥和葡萄糖导致土壤中Cmic和Nmic增加，其中有机肥明显。