Measurement of photosynthetic oxygen evolution with a new type of oxygen sensor

We measured the light response curve of photosynthetic oxygen evolution by illuminating a leaf disc in an air-tight windowed chamber. Oxygen production was measured by monitoring the quenching of luminescence of an organometallic ruthenium compound. A photodiode based chlorophyll a fluorometer was used to measure the luminescence intensity. Oxygen evolution measurements with a traditional oxygen electrode gave the same numerical values at different light intensities when the same leaf disk was tested. The quality of the measurement signal of the new method was found to be similar to that obtained with the oxygen electrode method. The new luminescence based system is more stable against electrical disturbances than an oxygen electrode, its response to oxygen pressure changes is very rapid, and the new method allows the same basic equipment to be used for chlorophyll fluorescence and oxygen measurements.     

织物电极的皮肤-电极接触阻抗测量方法分析

随着可穿戴式健康监测技术的发展,新型心电传感器-织物电极成为人们关注的热点,本文对织物电极的皮肤-电极接触阻抗测量方法进行了综述。首先介绍了织物电极的概念,分析了织物电极的皮肤-电极电化学界面、皮肤-电极电化学界面的等效电路和简化电路模型,得出了皮肤-电极接触阻抗的计算公式;其次,将皮肤-电极接触阻抗的测量方法归纳为直接测量法、参比测量法和模拟皮肤测量法三类,讨论了它们的测量原理和优缺点。本文认为需将模拟皮肤测量法和真实皮肤测量法有机结合,才能有效评价织物电极的阻抗特性,为织物电极的性能评价和心电信号采集电路的设计提供重要依据。最后,本文对织物电极待解决的问题进行了分析讨论。     

Redox potential of the Rieske iron-sulfur protein: Quantum-chemical and electrostatic study

Quantum-chemical study of structures, energies, and effective partial charge distribution for several models of the Rieske protein redox center is performed in terms of the B3LYP density functional method in combination with the broken symmetry approach using three different atomic basis sets. The structure of the redox complex optimized in vacuum differs markedly from that inside the protein. This means that the protein matrix imposes some stress on the active site resulting in distortion of its structure. The redox potentials calculated for the real active site structure are in a substantially better agreement with the experiment than those calculated for the idealized structure. This shows an important role of the active site distortion in tuning its redox potential. The reference absolute electrode potential of the standard hydrogen electrode is used that accounts for the correction caused by the water surface potential. Electrostatic calculations are performed in the framework of the polarizable solute model. Two dielectric permittivities of the protein are employed: the optical permittivity for calculation of the intraprotein electric field, and the static permittivity for calculation of the dielectric response energy. Only this approach results in a reasonable agreement of the calculated and experimental redox potentials.     

Synthesis and characterization of metal ion imprinted nano-porous polymer for the selective recognition of copper

Selective recognition of metal ions utilizing metal ion-imprinted polymers (MIIPs) received much importance in diverse fields owing to their high selectivity for the target metal ions. In the present study, a copper ion imprinted polymer was synthesized without an additional complexing ligand or complex with a broad aim to avoid the conventional extra metal ion complexing ligand during the synthesis of MIIP. The complete removal of the copper metal ion from the MIIP was confirmed by AAS and SEM–EDX. SEM image of the MIIP exhibited nano-patterns and it was also found to be entirely different from that of non-imprinted polymer and polymer with copper metal ions. BET surface area analysis revealed more surface area (47.96 m²/g) for the Cu(II)-MIIP than non-imprinted control polymer (41.43 m²/g). TGA result of polymer with copper metal ion indicated more char yield (18.41%) when compared to non-imprinted control polymer (8.3%) and Cu(II)-MIIP (less than 1%). FTIR study confirmed the complexation between Cu(II)-MIIP and Cu(II) metal ion through carbonyl oxygen of acryl amide. The Cu(II)-MIIP exhibited an imprinting efficiency of 2.0 and it was showing 8% interference from a mixture of Zn, Ni and Co ions. A potentiometric ion selective electrode devised with Cu(II)-MIIP showed more potential response for Cu(II) ion than that was fabricated from non-imprinted polymer.     

Electrochemical measurement of hydrogen peroxide in plasma: evaluation of freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) and crucian carp (Cyprinus carpio) phagocytes under natural conditions

An electrochemical technique for the real-time detection of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was employed to describe respiratory burst activity (RBA) of phagocytes in plasma which can be used to evaluate the ability of immune system and disease resistance. The method is based upon the electric current changes, by redox reaction on platinum electrode of extracellular hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) released from phagocytes stimulated by the zymosan at 680 mV direct current (d.c.). Compared with the control, activation of respiratory burst by zymosan particles results in a high amperometric response, and a current peak was obtained during the whole monitoring process. The peak current was proved by addition of Cu2+ and other controls, to be the result of intense release of H2O2 from phagocytes. The peak area was calculated and used to evaluate the quantity of effective H2O2, which represents the quantity of H2O2 beyond the clearance of related enzymes in plasma. According to Faraday's law, the phagocytes' ability of prawns to generate effective H2O2 was evaluated from 1.253 x 10(-14) mol/cell to 6.146 x 10(-14) mol/cell, and carp from 1.689 x 10(-15) mol/cell to 7.873 x 10(-15) mol/cell. This method is an acute and quick detection of extracellular effective H2O2 in plasma and reflects the capacity of phagocytes under natural conditions, which could be applied for selecting species and parents with high immunity for breeding in aquaculture.     

Interfacial electron transfer of glucose oxidase on poly(glutamic acid)-modified glassy carbon electrode and glucose sensing

The interfacial electron transfer of glucose oxidase (GOx) on a poly(glutamic acid)-modified glassy carbon electrode (PGA/GCE) was investigated. The redox peaks measured for GOx and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) are similar, and the anodic peak of GOx does not increase in the presence of glucose in a mediator-free solution. These indicate that the electroactivity of GOx is not the direct electron transfer (DET) between GOx and PGA/GCE and that the observed electroactivity of GOx is ascribed to free FAD that is released from GOx. However, efficient electron transfer occurred if an appropriate mediator was placed in solution, suggesting that GOx is active. The PGA/GCE-based biosensor showed wide linear response in the range of 0.5–5.5 mM with a low detection limit of 0.12 mM and high sensitivity and selectivity for measuring glucose.     

Electrochemical study of the interaction between cytochrome c and DNA at a modified gold electrode

The direct electron transfer of surface-confined horse heart cytochrome c (Cyt c) was achieved using COOH-terminated alkanethiolate-modified gold electrode. Later DNA was immobilized on the two-layer modified electrode. The quantitative determination of DNA was explored and the interaction between cytochrome c and DNA was studied. The binding site sizes were determined to be 15 bp per Cyt c molecule with double-stranded (ds) DNA and 30 nucleotides binding one Cyt c molecule with single-stranded (ss) DNA. At the dsDNA/Cyt c/MUA/Au electrode, the rate constant of oxidation electron transfer k(s,ox)=1.59x10(-3)cms-1 was obtained, at the ssDNA/Cyt c/MUA/Au electrode, the value was 2.43x10(-3)ms-1 when the scan rate was 1.0V/s. The different electrodes were characterized with electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance and atomic force microscope.     

Precise blood lead analysis using a combined internal standard and standard addition approach with disposable screen-printed electrodes

We report here a highly accurate and efficient method for blood lead analysis (BLA) through the use of a disposable electrode. A new type of mercury-plated preanodized screen-printed carbon electrode, together with a thallium(III) internal standard, simplifies calibration and gives easily quantifiable signals for accurate BLA. A preanodization procedure improves the preconcentration ability of the working electrode through the effect of lead (Pb) complexing with an electrogenerated surface functional group, mainly >C=O. Under optimized conditions, the ratio of the anodic stripping peak currents of Pb and Tl (i.e., i(Pb)/i(Tl)) is linear against [Pb] in the window of 1-300 ppb with a correlation coefficient and detection limit (signal-to-noise ratio=3) of 0.999 and 0.23 ppb, respectively. This approach was used to analyze blood samples (n=55) from workers at a local battery factory. The results are consistent with those obtained from graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy and confirm the applicability of the proposed method.     

Salicylate poly(vinyl chloride) membrane electrode based on (2-[(E)-2-(4-nitrophenyl) hydrazono]-1-phenyl-2-(2-quinolyl)-1-ethanone) Cu(II)

A new salicylate-selective electrode based on the complex of (2-[(E)-2-(4-nitrophenyl)hydrazono]-1-phenyl-2-(2-quinolyl)-1-ethanone) Cu(II) as the membrane carrier was developed. The electrode exhibited a good Nernstian slope of -59.6+/-1.0 mV/decade and a linear range of 1.0 x 10(-6) to 1.0M for salicylate. The limit of detection was 5.0 x 10(-7) M. The electrode had a fast response time of 10 s and can be used for more than 3 months. The selective coefficients were determined by the fixed interference method and could be used in the pH range of 4.0 to 10.5. The electrode was employed as an indicator electrode for direct determination of salicylate in pharmaceutical and biological samples.