Partial blocking of ion transport at the interface of an ion-selective liquid membrane electrode by neutral surfactants

Transfer of Sodium Ion across Interface between Na+-Selective Electrode Membrane and Aqueous Electrolyte Solution: Can We Use Nernst Equation If Current Flows through Electrode?

Electrochemical impedance and chronopotentiometric measurements with Na+-selective solvent polymeric (PVC) membranes containing a neutral ionophore and a cation exchanger revealed low-frequency resistance, which is ascribed to Na+ ion transfer across the interface between the membrane and aqueous solution. The attribution is based on the observed regular dependence of this resistance on the concentration of Na+ in solutions. The respective values of the exchange current densities were found to be significantly larger than the currents flowing through ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) during an analysis in non-zero-current mode. This fact suggests that the interfacial electrochemical equilibrium is not violated by the current flow and implies that the Nernst equation can be applied to interpret the data obtained in non-zero-current mode, e.g., constant potential coulometry.

Self-Assembled Polymeric Membranes and Nanoassemblies on Surfaces: Preparation, Characterization, and Current Applications

Biomembranes play a crucial role in a multitude of biological processes, where high selectivity and efficiency are key points in the reaction course. The outstanding performance of biological membranes is based on the coupling between the membrane and biomolecules, such as membrane proteins. Polymer-based membranes and assemblies represent a great alternative to lipid ones, as their presence not only dramatically increases the mechanical stability of such systems, but also opens the scope to a broad range of chemical functionalities, which can be fine-tuned to selectively combine with a specific biomolecule. Tethering the membranes or nanoassemblies on a solid support opens the way to a class of functional surfaces finding application as sensors, biocomputing systems, molecular recognition, and filtration membranes. Herein, the design, physical assembly, and biomolecule attachment/insertion on/within solid-supported polymeric membranes and nanoassemblies are presented in detail with relevant examples. Furthermore, the models and applications for these materials are highlighted with the recent advances in each field.

Ion channel mimetic chronopotentiometric polymeric membrane ion sensor for surface-confined protein detection

The operation of ion channel sensors is mimicked with functionalized polymeric membrane electrodes, using a surface confined affinity reaction to impede the electrochemically imposed ion transfer kinetics of a marker ion. A membrane surface biotinylated by covalent attachment to the polymeric backbone is used here to bind to the protein avidin as a model system. The results indicate that the protein accumulates on the ion-selective membrane surface, partially blocking the current-induced ion transfer across the membrane/aqueous sample interface, and subsequently decreases the potential jump in the so-called super-Nernstian step that is characteristic of a surface depletion of the marker ion. The findings suggest that such a potential drop could be utilized to measure the concentration of protein in the sample. Because the sensitivity of protein sensing is dependent on the effective blocking of the active surface area, it can be improved with a hydrophilic nanopore membrane applied on top of the biotinylated ion-selective membrane surface. On the basis of cyclic voltammetry characterization, the nanoporous membrane electrodes can indeed be understood as a recessed nanoelectrode array. The results show that the measuring range for protein sensing on nanopore electrodes is shifted to lower concentrations by more than 1 order of magnitude, which is explained with the reduction of surface area by the nanopore membrane and the related more effective hemispherical diffusion pattern.