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.