Electroanalysis may be used in the Vanillin Biotechnological Production

This study shows that electroanalysis may be used in vanillin biotechnological production. As a matter of fact, vanillin and some molecules implicated in the process like eugenol, ferulic acid, and vanillic acid may be oxidized on electrodes made of different materials (gold, platinum, glassy carbon). By a judicious choice of the electrochemical method and the experimental conditions the current intensity is directly proportional to the molecule concentrations in a range suitable for the biotechnological process. So, it is possible to imagine some analytical strategies to control some steps in the vanillin biotechnological production: by sampling in the batch reactor during the process, it is possible to determine out of line the concentration of vanillin, eugenol, ferulic acid, and vanillic acid with a gold rotating disk electrode, and low concentration of vanillin with addition of hydrazine at an amalgamated electrode. Two other possibilities consist in the introduction of electrodes directly in the batch during the process; the first one with a gold rotating disk electrode using linear sweep voltammetry and the second one requires three gold rotating disk electrodes held at different potentials for chronoamperometry. The last proposal is the use of ultramicroelectrodes in the case when stirring is not possible

Investigation of interactions of a resorcin[4]arene receptor with bilayer lipid membranes (BLMs) for the electrochemical biosensing of mixtures of dopamine and ephedrine

The present article investigates the interactions of a resorcin[4]arene receptor with planar bilayer lipid membranes (BLMs) that can be used for the electrochemical detection of dopamine and ephedrine. BLMs were composed of egg phosphatidylcholine and 35% (w/w) dipalmitoyl phosphatidic acid in which the receptor was incorporated. These BLMs modified with the resorcin[4]arene receptor can be used as one-shot sensors for the direct electrochemical sensing of these energizing-stimulating substances. The interactions of these compounds with the lipid membranes were found to be electrochemically transduced in the form of a transient current signal with a duration of seconds, which reproducibly appeared within 8 and 20 s after exposure of the membranes to dopamine and ephedrine, respectively, The response time for BLMs without the receptor for dopamine was about 3 min, whereas no signals were obtained for ephedrine in the absence of the receptor. The mechanism of signal generation was investigated by differential scanning calorimetric studies. These studies revealed that the adsorption of the receptor is through the hydrophobic tails of the receptor, whereas hydrophilic groups of the receptor were directed towards the electrolyte solution enhancing the ion transport through the lipid membranes. The magnitude of the transient current signal was related to the concentration of the stimulating agent in bulk solution in the micromolar range. No interferences from ascorbic acid were noticed because of the use of the negatively charged lipids in membranes. The present technique can be used as one-shot sensor for the detection of these pharmaceutical substances and future research is targeted to the determination of these chemicals in human biofluids such as urine of athletes. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

Stabilized filter-supported bilayer lipid membranes (BLMs) for automated flow monitoring of compounds of clinical, pharmaceutical, environmental and industrial interest

This paper describes the results of analytical applications of electrochemical biosensors based on bilayer lipid membranes (BLMs) Sor the automated rapid and sensitive flow monitoring of substrates of hydrolytic enzymes, antigens and triazine herbicides. BLM’s, composed of mixtures of egg phosphatidylcholine (egg PC) and dipalmitoylphosphatidic acid (DPPA), were supported on ultrafiltration membranes (glass microfibre or polycarbonate) which were found to enhance their stability fos flow experiments. The proteins (enzymes, antibodies) were incorporated into a floating lipid matrix at an air-electrolyte interface, and then a casting procedure was used to deliver the lipid onto the filter supports for BLM formation. Injections of the analyte were made into flowing streams of the carrier electrolyte solution and a current transient signal was obtained with a magnitude related to the analyte concentration. Substrates of hydrolytic enzyme reactions (acetylcholine, urea and penicillin) could be determined at the micromolar level with a maximum rate of 220 samples/h, whereas antigens (thyroxin) and triazine herbicides (simazine, atrazine and propazine) could be monitored at the nanomolar level in less than 2 min. The time of appearance of the transient response obtained for herbicides was increased to the order of simazine, atrazine and propazine which has permitted analysis of these triazines in mixtures

1994 MCBRYDE-MEDAL-AWARD-LECTURE - INVESTIGATIONS OF ORGANIZED MONOLAYER FILMS FOR BIOSENSOR DEVELOPMENT

Our interests have focused on the investigation and development of biosensors that use chemically selective membranes to measure the concentration of specific species in complex media. One fundamental idea is that protein, which can bind selectively to a specific organic or biochemical species, can be incorporated into an ordered lipid or surfactant membrane assembly such that selective binding events lead to changes in the structure of the membrane (transduction) that can be measured quantitatively. The primary advantage of this method of detection is that it is applicable to interactions of enzymes, antibodies, receptors, and lectins, and it may be extended to investigations of DNA/RNA hybridization. This detection method therefore provides a sensitive generic strategy for sensor applications. The central problem to be solved is how the alteration of the structure of a membrane that is caused by binding events of protein or genetic material can give rise to an analytical signal. We have been focusing our efforts in the areas of fluorescence spectroscopy and electrochemical methods. The electrochemical methods rely on detection in changes of the permeability of membranes to ions and provide systems with very low background signal, leading to the possibility of detection of single molecular-binding events. Fluorescent systems operate on the basis that a chemically selective membrane containing a fluorescent indicator can provide an analytical signal caused by the change of the structure of the membrane due to the binding events