Acceptor properties of "carbon nanotubes-redox-active polymer based on bovine serum albumin modified with ferrocenecarboxaldehyde" composite for creating a BOD biosensor with Blastobotrys adeninivorans BKM Y-2677 yeast

The possibility of using a composite material based on bovine serum albumin (BSA) covalently bonded with ferrocenecarboxaldehyde and containing carbon nanotubes (CNT) for the immobilization of Blastobotrys adeninivorans BKM Y-2677 (B. adeninivorans) yeast is discussed. The optimal ratio of ferrocenecarboxaldehyde to BSA for the redox-active polymer synthesis is 1:2, since the heterogeneous electron transfer constant is 0.45 ± 0.01 s-1. When carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are added to this polymer, the heterogeneous electron transfer constant increases: at a CNT specific density of 2.5 µg/mm2, it reaches a maximum value of 0.55 ± 0.01 s-1. The addition of CNTs into the conducting system leads to increasing of the rate constant of interaction redox species with B. adeninivorans yeast by an order: the rate constant of interaction between B. adeninivorans yeast and electroactive particles in a redox-active polymer is 0.056 ± 0.005 dm3/g × s and in a composite material based on CNTs is 0.51 ± 0.02 dm3/g × s. The yeast specific density at the electrode of 0.1 mg/mm2 and electrolyte pH of 6.2 was chosen as the working value for the receptor system operation. Immobilized in a composite material, yeast oxidizes a wider range of substrates compared with a similar receptor element based on the ferrocene mediator. The biosensors formed on the basis of hybrid polymers have a high sensitivity with a lower limit of determined concentrations of 1.5 mg/dm3 with an assay time of 5 min and a high correlation (R = 0.9945) with the results of the standard method for determining biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in nine real surface water samples of the Tula region.

A kinetic approach to the formation of two-mediator systems for developing microbial biosensors as exemplified by a rapid biochemical oxygen demand assay

This work proposes a method of forming a microorganism-mediator(s) receptor system, in which the rates of separate stages of mediator bioelectrocatalysis are used as the basis for the development of biosensors for the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) rapid assay. In the presence of a ferrocene mediator, the yeast Blastobotrys adeninivorans was shown to enable oxidation of a larger range of substrates as compared with other investigated microorganisms-bacteria Escherichia coli and yeast Ogataea polymorpha. The rate constants of the interaction of the yeast B. adeninivorans with nine compounds, electron transfer mediators, were determined; the best mediator for these microorganisms was found to be neutral red (k _int = 0.681 ± 0.009 dm³/g s). Neutral red possesses a high rate of interaction with the ferrocene mediator (14,200 ± 100 dm³/mol s) shown earlier to be the most promising acceptor of electrons at a carbon paste electrode (0.4 ± 0.1 cm/s). These features enabled the formation of a two-mediator ferrocene-neutral red system to be used in a biosensor. A two-mediator-based biosensor had a higher sensitivity (the lower limit of detected BOD concentrations, 0.16 mg/dm³) than that of a one-mediator system based on neutral red and ferrocene. Analysis of ten samples from surface water reservoirs showed the combination of ferrocene, neutral red and the yeast B. adeninivorans to enable the data that highly correlated (R = 0.9693) with those of the standard method.

Problems analysis and new fabrication strategies of mediated electrochemical biosensors for wastewater toxicity assessment

Conventional mediated electrochemical biosensors for toxicity assessment were almost based on 'one-pot' principle, i.e., mediators and the under-test chemicals were mixed together in the same vessel. In this process, the electron mediator is assumed to be merely an electron acceptor and cannot react with under-test toxicants. Actually，some under-test pollutants (such as metal ions) could react with the electron mediators, thus affecting the detection accuracy and sensitivity of the sensors. It was also found that at least two other interference factors have been ignored in present'one-pot' mediated electrochemical biosensor systems, i.e., (1) the electrochemical sensitivity of mediators to pH; and (2) the potential reactions between under-test chemicals and buffers and the consequent pH changes. In this study, the three ignored interference factors have been investigated systematically and demonstrated by significance tests. Moreover, a solving strategy, an isolation method, is proposed for fabrication of novel mediated electrochemical biosensor to avoid the interference factors existing at present mediated electrochemical biosensor. According to the testing results obtained from the isolation method, IC₅₀ values of Cu²⁺, Cd²⁺, Zn²⁺, Fe³⁺, Ni²⁺ and Cr³⁺ were 21.3 mg/L, 3.7 mg/L, 26.7 mg/L, 4.4 mg/L and 10.7 mg/L, respectively. The detection results of four real water samples also suggested this method could be applied for the practical and complex samples.

Biochemical oxygen demand measurement by mediator method in flow system

Using mediator as electron acceptor for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) measurement was developed in the last decade (BODMed). However, until now, no BOD(Med) in a flow system has been reported. This work for the first time describes a flow system of BOD(Med) method (BOD(Med)-FS) by using potassium ferricyanide as mediator and carbon fiber felt as substrate material for microbial immobilization. The system can determine the BOD value within 30 min and possesses a wider analytical linear range for measuring glucose-glutamic acid (GGA) standard solution from 2 up to 200 mg L(-1) without the need of dilution. The analytical performance of the BOD(Med)-FS is comparable or better than that of the previously reported BOD(Med) method, especially its superior long-term stability up to 2 months under continuous operation. Moreover, the BOD(Med)-FS has same determination accuracy with the conventional BOD5 method by measuring real samples from a local wastewater treatment plant (WWTP).

Electrochemical detection of intracellular and cell membrane redox systems in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Redox mediators can interact with eukaryote cells at a number of different cell locations. While cell membrane redox centres are easily accessible, the redox centres of catabolism are situated within the cytoplasm and mitochondria and can be difficult to access. We have systematically investigated the interaction of thirteen commonly used lipophilic and hydrophilic mediators with the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A double mediator system is used in which ferricyanide is the final electron acceptor (the reporter mediator). After incubation of cells with mediators, steady state voltammetry of the ferri/ferrocyanide redox couple allows quantitation of the amount of mediator reduced by the cells. The plateau current at 425 mV vs Ag/AgCl gives the analytical signal. The results show that five of the mediators interact with at least three different trans Plasma Membrane Electron Transport systems (tPMETs), and that four mediators cross the plasma membrane to interact with cytoplasmic and mitochondrial redox molecules. Four of the mediators inhibit electron transfer from S. cerevisiae. Catabolic inhibitors were used to locate the cellular source of electrons for three of the mediators.

A novel approach based on ferricyanide-mediator immobilized in an ion-exchangeable biosensing film for the determination of biochemical oxygen demand

A novel biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) sensing method employing a ferricyanide (FC) mediator immobilized in an ion-exchangeable polysiloxane was developed. The ion-exchangeable polysiloxane containing alkylammonium groups (PAPS-Cl) was synthesized by sol-gel reaction of 3-(aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane (APTMOS) catalyzed by hydrochloric acid. FC was combined in PAPS-Cl via ion-association and the product was labeled as PAPS-FC, which was employed for a modified glassy carbon electrode. The apparent diffusion coefficient (D(app)) of FC on the modified glassy carbon electrode was 9.8x10(-11) cm(2) s(-1). In a three-electrode system, a linear relationship between the anodic current responses and glucose/glutamate (GGA) concentration was obtained up to 40 mg O2 L(-1) (r=0.994) when the reaction mixture was incubated for 30 min. Single sensor and piece-to-piece reproducibility were less than 3.8 and 7.7%, respectively. The effects of dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature and co-existing substances on the BOD responses were studied. The sensor responses to nine pure organic substances were compared with the conventional BOD5 method and other biosensor methods. Detection results of seawater samples were compared with those obtained from the BOD5 method and showed a good correlation (r=0.988).

The different behaviors of three oxidative mediators in probing the redox activities of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The different behaviors of three lipophilic mediators including 2-methyl-1,4-naphthalenedione(menadione), 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol (DCPIP) and N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine (TMPD) in probing the redox activity of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae were studied by several comparative factor-influencing experiments. Hydrophilic ferricyanide was employed as an extracellular electron acceptor, and constituted dual mediator system with each of three lipophilic mediators. Limiting-current microelectrode voltammetry was used to measure the quantity of ferrocyanide accumulations, giving a direct measure of the redox activity. It was found that under anaerobic condition, menadione interacts with anaerobic respiration pathway, whereas DCPIP and TMPD interact with fermentation pathway in the yeast. Based on the understanding of the interaction between the yeast and each of three mediators, three mediators were respectively employed in evaluating the toxicity of acetic acid on S. cerevisiae and, the results for the first showed that the mediators are complementary to each other when used as electron carriers in biotoxicity assay.