Development of amperometric biosensors for the determination of glycolic acid in real samples

Khattab T. Recent Advances in Cellulose-Based Biosensors for Medical Diagnosis

Cellulose has attracted much interest, particularly in medical applications such as advanced biosensing devices. Cellulose could provide biosensors with enhanced biocompatibility, biodegradability and non-toxicity, which could be useful for biosensors. Thus, they play a significant role in environmental monitoring, medical diagnostic tools, forensic science, and foodstuff processing safety applications. This review summarizes the recent developments in cellulose-based biosensors targeting the molecular design principles toward medical detection purposes. The recognition/detection mechanisms of cellulose-based biosensors demonstrate two major classes of measurable signal generation, including optical and electrochemical cellulosic biosensors. As a result of their simplicity, high sensitivity, and low cost, cellulose-based optical biosensors are particularly of great interest for including label-free and label-driven (fluorescent and colorimetric) biosensors. There have been numerous types of cellulose substrates employed in biosensors, including several cellulose derivatives, nano-cellulose, bacterial cellulose, paper, gauzes, and hydrogels. These kinds of cellulose-based biosensors were discussed according to their preparation procedures and detection principle. Cellulose and its derivatives with their distinctive chemical structure have demonstrated to be versatile materials, affording a high-quality platform for accomplishing the immobilization process of biologically active molecules into biosensors. Cellulose-based biosensors exhibit a variety of desirable characteristics, such as sensitivity, accuracy, convenience, quick response, and low-cost. For instance, cellulose paper-based biosensors are characterized as being low-cost and easy to operate, while nano-cellulose biosensors are characterized as having a good dispersion, high absorbance capacity, and large surface area. Cellulose and its derivatives have been promising materials in biosensors which could be employed to monitor various bio-molecules, such as urea, glucose, cell, amino acid, protein, lactate, hydroquinone, gene, and cholesterol. The future interest will focus on the design and construction of multifunctional, miniaturized, low-cost, environmentally friendly, and integrated biosensors. Thus, the production of cellulose-based biosensors is very important.

Oxime-functionalized cryogel disks for catalase immobilization

Catalase is a protective enzyme against oxidative stress and converts hydrogen peroxide into water and molecular oxygen. In the current study, catalase immobilization was applied onto the oxime-functionalized cryogel disks. Cryogel disks were produced by free radical polymerization. After cutting as circular disks, oxime ligand (4-biphenylchloroglyoxime, BPCGO) was attached and oxime-functionalized cryogel disks were obtained. After optimization of several immobilization parameters such as pH, initial catalase concentration, temperature and ionic strength, maximum catalase load was detected as 261.7 ± 11.2mg/g for cryogel disk at pH5.0. Activity studies indicated that immobilization enhanced the enzyme activity in basic pH region, the temperature range of 15-35°C and at ionic strengths between 0.2 and 1.0M NaCl. Km was detected as 9.9 and 11.0mM and V_max was 357.1 and 769.2μmol min^-1 for free and immobilized catalase, respectively. k_cat and Km/k_cat values showed that immobilization enhanced the catalytic efficiency. Storage stability experiments demonstrated that immobilization increased the usability period. Furthermore, catalase desorption was achieved by 1.0M NaSCN at pH8.0 successfully and catalase adsorption capacity of oxime-functionalized cryogel disk was decreased by 9.9% at the end of 5 adsorption-desorption cycle.

Ozone Monitoring Based on a Biosensor Concept Utilizing a Reagentless Alcohol Oxidase Electrode

An electrochemical method based on the concept of a biosensor for the monitoring of ozone is described for first time. The proposed method includes two parts: a selective sorbent for ozone, that is, eugenol, and a formaldehyde amperometric biosensor mounted into a flow-through cell. Ozone adds rapidly to the double bond of the allyl group of eugenol, which has been immobilized onto a hydrophobic C-18 reactor and the so produced formaldehyde is collected into the working buffer solution (sampler) and pumped to the detector. A multimembrane assembly consisting of an alcohol oxidase-modified nylon membrane sandwiched between an outer polycarbonate and an inner cellulose acetate membrane was fitted onto a Pt electrode and the enzymatically produced H2O2 was monitored at +0.65 V (vs Ag/AgCl/KCl 3 M). Under optimum conditions, a linear calibration curve over the concentration range 3-200 microg x mL(-1) ozone was constructed. The detection limit (S/N = 3) was calculated at 1.1 microg x mL(-1) ozone. The proposed method is interference-free from other gases such as O2, Ar, N2, N2O, NOCl, SO2, NH3, and CO2, which were tested at concentrations >200-fold higher than that of 100 microg x mL(-1) ozone used for comparison. Besides selectivity, the method is easy to perform and reproducible; its applicability in synthetic gaseous samples is also demonstrated.

Development of an amperometric biosensing method for the determination of L-fucose in pretreated urine

The first amperometric biosensing method for the determination of L-fucose is described. L-Fucose is the objective of much current research, as it is considered as a potential marker for various pathologic disorders. Recombinant L-fucose dehydrogenase, having as cofactor beta-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAD+P), was cross-linked in a water-soluble photosensitive polymer matrix, that is, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) modified with styrylpyridinium (SbQ), in the presence of BSA and glutaraldehyde. The resulting membrane was sandwiched between two polycarbonate membranes and was mounted in an amperometric cell. The oxidation of the enzymatically produced NADPH was monitored at a platinum anode at +0.25 V versus a silver pseudoreference electrode in the presence of ferricyanide. The system was fully optimized with respect to various analytical parameters. Regarding to the mechanical properties of the membrane and the storage stability of the immobilized enzyme, various parameters were also optimized. Several methods for the pretreatment of urine samples were investigated. Treatment of the samples with PbO2 found to eliminate the interference effect of various electroactive species exist in urine; optimum incubation time was determined since at prolonged incubation times L-fucose is also affected. Calibration curves for the direct and the mediated monitoring of NADPH were liner over the concentration ranges 0.04-1.0 mM (r2=0.9995) and 0.03-3.0 mM (r2=0.9997) fucose, respectively. The detection limits (S/N 3) were 2 and 1.5 microM fucose, respectively. The R.S.D. of the mediated biosensor is better than 1.5% (n=10, 0.5 mM fucose). The proposed biosensor correlates well with a reference enzymatic method and exhibits very good working and storage stability.

Trace detection of glycolic acid by electrophore labeling gas chromatography-electron capture mass spectrometry

As little as 10 pg of standard glycolic acid (glycolate) was detected in a method comprising the following sequence of steps: (1) add glycolate-2,2-d(2) as an internal standard and exchange the carboxylate oxygens in hot HCl/[(18)O]water; (2) form an amide derivative with a water-soluble carbodiimide and the electrophoric amine, AMACE1; (3) purify by bypass HPLC; (4) derivatize the residual hydroxy with butyric anhydride; (5) partition with acetonitrile/2 M NaCl; and (6) detect by GC-ECMS. At an intermediate stage in method development, 1 pg of glycolate-2,2,-d(2) could be detected by subjecting it to the above steps 2-6, forming product in an overall, absolute yield of 76%. Step 1 was added after an effort to fully overcome background contamination by glycolate was unsuccessful. For example, background contamination by glycolate could increase rather than decrease when the methanol reagent in the procedure was "carefully purified." The work extends the sensitivity for glycolate detection by approximately 100-fold and provides high-performance conditions for the analytical steps employed.

Development of a flow amperometric enzymatic method for the determination of total glucosinolates in real samples

The first amperometric flow analyzer, based on the biosensor concept, capable of determining total glucosinolates in real samples, is described. Myrosinase was immobilized on aminopropyl-modified controlled pore glass, which was then used for the construction of a packed-bed reactor. Myrosinase catalyzes the hydrolysis of glucosinolates (sinigrin) to glucose (among the other products), which is then oxidized by the action of glucose oxidase to produce hydrogen peroxide. The glucose enzyme electrode is based on a multimembrane architecture and was mounted on an amperometric flow cell (hydrogen peroxide detection at a platinum anode poised at +0.65 V vs Ag/AgCl/3M KCl). Different membrane types and different activation procedures were tested. The system was optimized to various working parameters, either as a glucose electrode or as a glucosinolate analyzer. The interference effect of various compounds was also investigated. Application of the method to real samples was carried out using glucose/glucose, hydrolyzed sinigrin and glucose/sinigrin solution as calibrators of the glucose electrode and the glucosinolate analyzer. Deviations due to the enantioselectivity of glucose oxidase to the beta-glucose anomer were observed, and a data elaboration protocol is proposed. The possibility of the simultaneous determination of glucose and glucosinolates is also demonstrated.

Gas chromatographic determination of 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone and octyldimethyl-p-aminobenzoic acid sunscreen agents in swimming pool and bathing waters by solid-phase microextraction

A method has been developed for the trace determination of two sunscreen constituents (2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone and octyldimethyl-p-aminobenzoic acid) in water samples, which are commonly used in commercial formulations. The method employs solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and gas chromatography with flame ionization and mass spectrometric detection. The technique was developed with headspace and direct sampling in order to demonstrate the applicability of these SPME extraction modes for the identification of these two UV absorbing compounds in waters. The main parameters affecting the SPME process, such as desorption time, extraction time profile, salt additives, pH, and temperature, were investigated. The poly(dimethylsiloxane) 100-microm and polyacrylate 85-microm fiber coatings were found to be the most efficient for the extraction of these compounds from aqueous matrices. Linear calibration curves in the wide range of 10-500 microg/l were obtained for both compounds yielding typical RSD values of 5-9% for both extraction modes. The recoveries were relatively high, 82-98%, with quantitation limits below 1 microg/l. A comparison between the proposed methods and the conventional multiresidue solid-phase extraction revealed that the proposed technique(s) can be reliably used for sunscreen residue measurement in water samples with satisfactory results.