Theory of Polymer Entrapped Enzyme Ultramicroelectrodes: Fundamentals

Digital simulation of chronoamperometry at an electrode within a hemispherical polymer drop containing an enzyme: comparison of a hemispherical with a flat disk electrode

Current-time and steady state current behaviour was simulated for the cases of a hemispherical and flat inlaid disk electrodes located under a hemispherical polymer drop containing an enzyme which converts a substrate diffusing into the drop into a product that is electroactive at the electrode. As well, a cylindrical electrode with length much greater than its diameter and coated with a layer of polymer/enzyme was treated. The ratio of steady state currents at the hemispherical to the disk electrode is not, as has sometimes been assumed, always equal to π/2; indeed this is only approached for polymer drops with large spillover ratio, that is, having a radius much larger than that of the electrodes. Steady state currents for all electrode geometries (including the cylinder) go through a maximum for some spillover ratio and then approach a constant value for larger spillover ratios. This constant value is the same as that for the diffusion limited current in a semi-infinite medium. For a cylindrical electrode, the steady state current tends towards zero for large spillover ratios.

Scanning mass spectrometry probe: a scanning probe electrospray ion source for imaging mass spectrometry of submerged interfaces and transient events in solution

The scanning mass spectrometry (SMS) probe is a new electrospray ion source. Motivated by the need for untargeted chemical imaging of dynamic events in solution, we have exploited an approach to electrospray ionization (ESI) that allows continuous sampling from a highly localized volume (approximately picoliters) in a liquid environment, softly ionizes molecules in the sample to render them amenable for mass spectrometric analysis, and sends the ions to the mass spectrometer. The key underlying concepts for our approach are (1) treating the electrospray capillary inlet as a chemical scanning probe and (2) locating the electrospray point as close as possible to the sampling point, thus providing the shortest response time possible. This approach enables chemical monitoring or imaging of submerged interfaces, providing access to details of spatial heterogeneity and temporal changes within liquid samples. It also permits direct access to liquid/ liquid interfaces for ESI-MS analysis. In this letter we report the first demonstrations of these capabilities of the SMS probe and describe some of the probe's basic characteristics.

Theory of Polymer Entrapped Enzyme Ultramicroelectrodes: Application to Glucose and Adenosine Triphosphate Detection

We validate, by comparison with experimental data, a theoretical description of the amperometric response of microbiosensors formed via enzyme entrapment. The utility of the theory is further illustrated with two relevant examples supported by experiments: (1) quantitative detection of glucose and (2) quantitative detection of adenosine triphosphate (ATP).