Ultra micro glutamate sensor using platinized carbon-fiber electrode and integrated counter electrode

An integrated ultra micro glutamate sensor has been constructed with a 7 μm diameter platinized carbon-fiber disk (PCD) electrode and a platinum thin-film (PTF) counter electrode fabricated on the glass capillary tube. By platinization, the electrode activity of the carbon fiber is improved. In order to obtain a stable response, a pulse potential is applied for hydrogen peroxide measurement. The PTF counter electrode shows good stability and can be used as a substitute for a silver-silver chloride electrode. Since the integrated PCD electrode shows good characteristics as a hydrogen peroxide sensor, glutamate oxidase is immobilized onto the tip of the PCD electrode to construct the ultra micro glutamate sensor. The sensor shows stable response to glutamate and a response time within 12 s. The calibration range for glutamate measurement is 50–800 μM.     

Fabrication and characterization of a miniaturized planar voltammetric sensor array for use in an electronic tongue

A planar voltammetric sensor array for use in an electronic tongue was fabricated using a combination of microfabrication techniques. The techniques of e-beam evaporation and pulsed laser deposition were applied to prepare a device that contained all of the electrodes integrated on a silicon die (6 mm × 6 mm). The working electrodes were metals gold, platinum, iridium and rhodium. They were characterized by SEM and EDX, and by electrochemical investigation of the packaged dies with cyclic voltammetry in solutions of sulfuric acid and of ferrocene carboxylic acid in aqueous buffer solution. The robustness and reproducibility of the devices were assessed by potential cycling in acid solution.     

Nanocrystalline graphite-like pyrolytic carbon film electrode for electrochemical sensing of hydrazine

Pyrolytic carbon film (PCF) electrode fabricated by a non-catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process was used as an electrochemical sensor for the detection of hydrazine. The electrode response was found to be electrocatalytic producing a reduction in the overpotential compared to other unmodified carbon-based electrodes such as glassy carbon (GC), basal-plane pyrolytic graphite (BPPG), and edge-plane pyrolytic graphite (EPPG) electrodes. The overall number of electrons involved in the electro-oxidation of hydrazine, the number of electrons involved in the rate-determining step, and diffusion coefficient of hydrazine at PCF electrode were estimated using cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The performance of PCF electrode was comparable to and in some cases even better than many chemically modified electrodes in terms of detection limit, linear dynamic range, and sensitivity. Moreover, the sensor exhibited fast response time (within 2 s), high response stability, and reproducibility. All the results indicated this sensor is suitable for hydrazine analysis.     

Selective mixed potential ammonia exhaust gas sensor

Novel selective ammonia sensors with high potential for long-term stability in harsh exhaust environments are introduced. The sensor bases on the mixed potential effect. In contrast to common sensors, the electrode functionalities electrical conductivity, selective catalytic activity, and electrochemical activity combined with long-term stability are separated. For that reason, one of the two electrodes is covered by a well-known porous vanadia–tungstenia–titania-based SCR catalyst material, which has been developed for exhaust gas SCR applications. The resulting sensor signal depends semi-logarithmically on ammonia. The NO_x cross-sensitivity is marginal. If enough oxygen is in the exhaust, the sensor signal is independent of the oxygen concentration. Tests downstream of an SCR catalyst show that very small ammonia slips can be determined.     

Microfabricated electrochemical sensors for exhaustive coulometry applications

The development of microfabricated electrochemical systems suitable for deployment in sensor networks that operate with a minimum of operator intervention are of great interest; therefore, a coulometric sensing system for exhaustive coulometry with the potential for calibration-free operation has been designed, fabricated and evaluated to support such development. The sensor chips were microfabricated onto a silicon substrate and contained a variety of specially designed thin-film gold working electrodes (ranging from one to five per chip) and a Ag/AgCl pseudo-reference electrode. A custom flow cell containing fluidic connections and counter electrode chamber was also constructed to integrate the sensor and to create an electrolysis chamber with a fixed volume. Different chip designs were evaluated as exhaustive coulometric sensors in terms of reproducibility and longevity using Fe(CN)₆^3?/4? as model analytes. The relative standard deviation (RSD) for a chip tested over a period of 42 days was 5.5% whereas the sensor-to-sensor reproducibility was within 6.3%.     

一种用于在体监测的新型钙离子传感器的研制

将钙离子敏感试剂(ETH129),DBP,NaTP,PVC按一定比例制成敏感膜,复合在高纯度铂丝基体电极上,制成了一种涂丝钙离子传感器。测试结果表明:该传感器的线性范围为10-6~10-2mol/L,响应斜率为20.35mV/Decup le,响应时间约为10 s。该传感器有好的选择性、稳定性及重现性,它的针状结构特点适于对生物体内的钙离子浓度进行在体动态监测。     

pH sensor based on deposited film of lead oxide on aluminum substrate electrode

Two modified electrodes were fabricated by deposition of thin films of α-PbO₂ and β-PbO₂ on aluminum substrate electrodes. Both electrodes exhibit potentiometric response to the hydrogen ion concentration and, consequently, can be used as pH sensors. The potentiometric responses of the modified electrodes were close to the theoretical slope of Nerustian response and comparable with glass electrodes. The electrochemical properties and stability of the constructed electrode were investigated. The possibility of the pH sensor for using in flow injection analysis (FIA) was also studied, and the optimum conditions were obtained.     

基于无线传感器网络及GPRS的水质监测系统设计

提出了一种基于ZigBee无线传感器网络和GPRS技术的多参数远程实时水质监测系统;无线传感器网络以CC2430通信模块为核心,传感器节点采集到的数据经路由节点汇总至协调器节点,通过GPRS模块及时远传至监控中心,设计信号调理电路,将传感器电极输出的微弱电信号进行放大、滤波,采用时间同步机制实现网络节点的同步唤醒,大幅提高网络的稳定性;对系统进行了多天连续测试,通信距离为100m时,网络的平均丢包率低于1%,pH值、溶氧度的平均相对偏差低于1%;测试结果表明,系统具有灵活、实时性好、准确性高、稳定可靠等优点,具有很强的实用价值。     

Improvement of the NOx selectivity for a planar YSZ sensor

In recent years planar yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) based electrochemical gas sensors for automotive exhaust applications have become a major source of interest. The present work aims to develop a sensor for industrialisation. For this reason planar YSZ-based electrochemical sensors using two metallic electrodes (platinum and gold) were fabricated using screen-printing technology and tested in a laboratory test bench for different concentrations of pollutant gas such as CO, NO, NO₂ and hydrocarbons in oxygen rich atmosphere. It was furthermore shown that the selectivity towards NO_x could be highly reinforced by deposing a catalytic filter consisting of 1.7-4.5 wt.% Pt dispersed on alumina directly on the sensing elements. This filter was characterized by the use of SEM, TPD and XRD.     

微型涂丝膜pH传感器的研制

制备一种可供活体测量的针状微型pH传感器。以高纯度Pt丝为基体,PVC为载体,α—萘胺为活性物质,THF为溶剂制成涂丝H+离子选择性电极。该电极在pH=2~11范围内成良好的线性响应,平均响应斜率为48mV/pH,抗干扰能力强,相对标准偏差在2%以内,响应时间小于10 s。其针状结构在在体测量中应用方便。     

An auto-calibrated miniature microhole cathode array sensor system for measuring dissolved oxygen

The electrochemical dissolved-oxygen sensor is a powerful tool in medical, biological and environmental applications. The authors have developed a new auto-calibrated miniature microhole cathode array sensor for measuring dissolved oxygen and ionic conductivity. Operating in the three-electrode potentiostatic mode, the sensor consists of two identical gold working electrodes with a multiple-cathode array, and Ag/AgCl reference electrode, a gold counter electrode and a Pt thermal resistor. One of the working electrodes is used for oxygen measurement and the other for calibration. The two working electrodes can also be used to measure the conductance of a solution by switching the sensor over to a conductance-measuring circuit. Evaluation of the sensor characteristics has given promising results. A linear relationship is observed for calibration of the sensor over the oxygen concentration range 3–16 ppm in 0.1–1.0 N KCl solution at 12–25°C and 760 Torr pressure. Each sensor can work stably and continuously for more than 20 h.     

基于PVN-GO复合膜的亚硝酸盐电化学传感器

通过简单可控的滴涂成膜和在线电聚合方法,将氧化石墨烯（GO）和聚香兰素（PVN）修饰到玻碳电极（GCE）表面,制备了PVN-GO复合膜修饰GCE,即亚硝酸盐（NO2-）电化学传感器.伏安研究表明：PVN-GO复合膜对NO2-的电化学氧化具有良好的催化作用.借助于扫描电镜技术和电化学交流阻抗谱（EIS）技术,对PVN-GO复合膜的表面形貌和电导性进行了表征.最优的检测条件下,NO2-的检测线性范围为2.0 ×10^-8～1.1 ×10^-2mol/L,检出限低至5.0 ×10^-9 mol/L（S/N =3）.对传感器的性能进行了考核,结果表明：该NO2-传感器具有良好的稳定性和重现性,灵敏度高,选择性好.将传感器应用于南湖水样中亚硝酸盐含量的测定,结果令人满意.     

Applications of artificial neural network on signal processing of optical fibre pH sensor based on bromophenol blue doped with sol–gel film

In this paper, the applications of artificial neural network (ANN) in signal processing of optical fibre pH sensor is presented. The pH sensor is developed based on the use of bromophenol blue (BPB) indicator immobilized in a sol–gel thin film as a sensing material. A three layer feed-forward network was used and the network training was performed using the back-propagation (BP) algorithm. Spectra generated from the pH sensor at several selected wavelengths are used as the input data for the ANN. The bromophenol blue indicator, which has a limited dynamic range of 3.00–5.50 pH units, was found to show higher pH dynamic range of 2.00–12.00 and with low calibration error after training with ANN. The enhanced ANN could be used to predict the new measurement spectra from unknown buffer solution with an average error of 0.06 pH units. Changes of ionic strength showed minor effect on the dynamic range of the sensor. The sensor also demonstrated good analytical performance with repeatability and reproducibility characters of the sensor yield relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) of 3.6 and 5.4%, respectively. Meanwhile the R.S.D. value for this photostability test is 2.4% and it demonstrated no hysteresis when the sensor was cycled from pH 2.00–12.00–2.00 (acid–base–acid region) of different pH. Performance tests demonstrated a response time of 15–150 s, depending on the pH and quantity of the immobilized indicator.     

基于碳纳米管修饰金电极的多巴胺电化学传感器

利用偶氮胭脂红B（ACB）对多壁碳纳米管（MWNTs）进行非共价修饰,使其具有水分散性,将MWNTs-ACB水分散液滴涂于金电极表面并置于红外灯下烤干,即制得多巴胺（DA）电化学传感器。伏安研究表明：MWNTs—ACB膜对生物小分子DA的电化学氧化具有良好的催化作用。最优的检测条件下,DA的检测线性范围为：1．0×10-6～1．0×10-mol／L,检出限低至5．0×10-7mol／L（S／N=3）。对传感器的性能进行了考察,结果表明：该DA传感器具有良好的稳定性和重现性,灵敏度高,选择性好。将传感器应用于注射液中DA含量的测定,结果令人满意。     

Comparative study of tuning of microfabrication parameters for improving electrochemical performance of platinum and glassy carbon microelectrodes in neural prosthetics

Neural prosthetics, which are increasingly being considered for the dual functionalities of recording and stimulation, are implanted in a corrosive biochemical environment that requires them to possess superior electrical and electrochemical stability and performance. These probes are required to withstand these operating conditions through billions of cycles of pulses of electrical stimulations and also maintain electrochemical sensitivity for potential applications in voltammetry. In this research, microelectrodes made of two material systems; namely, platinum and glassy carbon, supported on a flexible substrate are fabricated and investigated for correlation between process parameters and the electrochemical efficacy of the neural interfaces, particularly charge storage capacity and corrosion rate. Using scanning electron and atomic force microscopies, the correlation between process parameters, surface morphology and topography in both platinum and glassy carbon were investigated. The results demonstrate that changes in surface topography and the rate of corrosion are correlated to variations in the process parameters. Furthermore, the results indicate a relationship between surface roughness and corrosion rate, in which the increase or decrease of the former corresponds to a similar change in the latter.

     

Reliability characterization of a soot particle sensor in terms of stress- and electromigration in thin-film platinum

In this work we present a systematic investigation of various failure mechanisms for thin-film platinum heater structures and interdigitated electrodes as components of a resistive type soot particle sensor. We study the role of stress-migration and electromigration and their interaction for the reliability of these sensors. The influence of a titanium adhesion layer and gases from the ambient atmosphere are also studied. Lifetime determination and optical and scanning electron microscopy are applied for samples which have experienced different load conditions to understand qualitatively and quantitatively the phenomena. The aim of this work is to enable time-to-failure prediction and thus provide guidelines for limiting temperature and current density in the actual sensor to ensure its stability over lifetime. We use dedicated, application-related test structures to ensure that the results are applicable to sensor lifetime estimations.     

固态pH 探测电极的制备及其性能表征

我们采用熔融碳酸锂(LiCO3)氧化法制备了固态Ir／IrO2 pH电极，同时制备了改进型固态Ag／AgCl参比电极，并对它们的性能进行了表征。实验结果显示，在pH=0-14的溶液中，Ir／IrO2电极与参比电极电位差与pH值呈现良好的线性关系，直线斜率为-62．429mV／pH，截距为607．97mV，相关系数R2=0．993。温度对新型pH传感器响应信号的影响符合Nernst方程，易于进行温度校正。盐度对电信号强度的影响是线性的，在介质盐度已知，或向步测定介质盐度的前提下，可从响应电信号强度及盐度确定待测介质的pH值。     

Stability study of carbon graphite covered quartz crystal

This paper shows the properties and the possibilities of carbon graphite-covered quartz crystal as an organic gas-sensing device. The carbon graphite formed on a side of quartz plate was supported by Pt electrodes. The prepared quartz crystals were heat treated for the enhancement of stability in the temperature range from 100 to 450°C. Impedance analysis of the carbon graphite-covered quartz crystal showed a larger admittance value than that of a lipid coated quartz crystal, which was based on our previous method for detecting gas components. Using the adsorption and desorption responses, the reproducibility and sensitivity are presented for describing the merits of carbon graphite-covered quartz crystal in the detection of organic gas components. The comparison of sensitivity between commercially available alcohol sensor and carbon graphite-covered quartz crystal is provided for a ppm of ethanol injection. These results prove that the carbon graphite-covered quartz crystals are usable as an organic gas sensor and as an analytical device.     

氯气凝胶电解质电化学气体传感器的研究

本文研究了高分子化合物丙烯酸—无机酸—乙二醇体系凝胶电解质的配比、丙烯酸凝胶酸度的稳定性、凝胶酸度对氯气响应的影响及氯气凝胶电解质传感器的性能等。     

Evaluation of amperometric glucose biosensors based on glucose oxidase encapsulated within enzymatically synthesized polyaniline and polypyrrole

In this article potential and suitability of enzymatically synthesized conducting polymers polyaniline (PANI) and polypyrrole (PPY) for fabrication of enzymatic amperometric glucose biosensors were evaluated. The polymerisation of these polymers was induced by catalytic activity of glucose oxidase (GOx) from Penicillium vitale cross-linked by glutaraldehyde (GA) on the graphite rod electrode (GOx-electrode) surface. The main precursors for initiation of polymerisation reactions were hydrogen peroxide as an initiator of polymerisation reaction and β-d-gluconic acid as a medium, which reduced the pH towards acidic one is the most suitable for the formation of PANI and PPY. During the polymerisation reactions the immobilized GOx was self-encapsulated within formed PANI or PPY layers in order to form GOx/PANI- and GOx/PPY-modified electrodes (GOx/PANI-electrode and GOx/PPY-electrode, respectively). Kinetic properties of GOx, which is acting as a biocatalyst in GOx/PANI- and GOx/PPY-electrodes, were studied and results were compared with GOx-electrode. The results show that in both GOx/PANI- and GOx/PPY-electrodes self-encapsulated GOx exhibited different parameters of catalysed reaction kinetics due to increasing diffusion limitations if compared with that of the GOx-electrode and it allowed the detection of glucose in a wider concentration interval. Moreover, both GOx/PANI- and GOx/PPY-electrodes exhibited good operational stability and reproducibility of analytical signal. The electrochemical characteristics of formed PANI and PPY in the GOx/PANI- and GOx/PPY-electrodes were also determined. In addition, the influence of temperature, pH and common interfering compounds on the steady-state current response of modified electrodes were investigated and discussed.