Determination of breath alcohol using a differential-type amperometric biosensor based on alcohol dehydrogenase

A differential-type amperometric biosensor based on conventional thick-film technology has been developed for breath alcohol measurement. The amperometric breath alcohol biosensor utilizes the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺) cofactor which produce reduced NADH as a product of the oxidation of alcohol. The biosensor was designed in a differential format consisting of a common Ag/AgCl reference electrode, an active working electrode containing the ADH, and the inactive working electrode containing only bovine serum albumin instead of the ADH. The differential signal between the active working electrode and the inactive working electrode minimized the interference from a large number of oxidizable species present in a person's breath. Prior to the amperometric measurement the biosensor was hydrated simply by dipping it into a phosphate buffer solution at pH 7.4. The NADH produced from the enzymatic reaction was oxidized at the working electrode biased at a potential of 470 mV vs. an on-board Ag/AgCl reference electrode. The biosensor can measure a person's breath alcohol over the concentration range 20–800 ppm routinely required in a test of drunken driving.