Development of a Redox Mediated Amperometric Detection System for Immunoassay. Application to Urinary Amphetamine Screening

Progress on the Electrochemical Sensing of Illicit Drugs

Illicit drugs are harmful substances, threatening both health and safety of societies in all corners of the world. Several policies have been developed over time to deal with this illicit drug problem, including supply reduction and harm reduction policies. Both policies require on-site detection tools to succeed, i.e. sensors that can identify illicit drugs in samples at the point-of-care. Electrochemical sensors are highly suited for this task, due to their short analysis times, low cost, high accuracy, portability and orthogonality with current technologies. In this chapter, we evaluate the latest trend in electrochemical sensing of illicit drugs, with a focus on detection of illicit drugs in seizures and body fluids. Furthermore, we will also provide an outlook on the potential of electrochemistry in wearable sensors for this purpose.

Affinity-based biosensors in sport medicine and doping control analysis

Affinity-based biosensors (ABBs) have started to be considered in sport medicine and doping control analysis because they are cheap, easy to use and sufficiently selective analytical devices, characterized by a reversible interaction with the analyte under investigation allowing the use of the same sensor for multiple analyses. In this review we describe the main categories of substances reported in the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List and how ABBs may contribute to their detection. Although several ABBs proposed in the last few years display limit of detections that are in principle matching the World Anti-Doping Agency requirements, their application in the framework of 'traditional' antidoping tests seems quite unlikely, mainly because of the still insufficient selectivity especially in the case of 'pseudo-endogenous' compounds, and on the lack of complete information regarding potential matrix effects in real samples and following their routine use. At the same time, ABBs could contribute to fill a significant information gap concerning complementary evidence that can be obtained from their use 'on the spot', as well as to preselect a risk population of individuals to be targeted for a full antidoping test; while in sport medicine they could contribute to obtaining analytical information of physiological relevance from the measurement of specific parameters or markers before, during and after physical exercise.

Electrochemical biosensors for environmental monitoring

Highly sensitive electrochemical biosensors offer precision, sensitivity, rapidity, and ease of operation for on-site environmental analysis. An electrochemical biosensor is an analytical device in which a specific biological recognition element (bioreceptor) is integrated within or intimately associated with an electrode (transducer) that converts the recognition event to a measurable electrical signal for the purpose of detecting a target compound (analyte) in solution. The signal generated allows both qualitative and quantitative measurements of an analyte in real time. In most cases, a miniaturized electrochemical cell contains a low volume of analyte, which is vital when dealing with hazardous materials and makes such devices ideal for environmental monitoring. This approach not only provides the means for on-site analysis but also removes the time delay and sample alteration that can occur during transport to a centralized laboratory. We first address the basic principles of electroanalytical measurement and the merger of electrochemistry and biology into a biosensing system, and then we discuss various environmental monitoring strategies involving this technology.