Christopher Batchelor-McAuley

Electrochemical determination of glutathione: a review

The physiological importance of glutathione and glutathione disulfide is evident from their implications in an array of medical conditions including diabetes, Parkinsons disease and cancer. As such the need for simple, rapid and cheap assays to aid clinical diagnostics and treatment is clear. These requirements are, in principle at least, ideally suited to electrochemical detection. Accordingly a large array of voltammetric methods ultimately aimed at making cheap and most likely disposable electrodes have been reported. This critical review analyses the context in which physiological glutathione measurement can be undertaken electrochemically and compares it to current assay approaches, while also covering the current literature for glutathione disulfide detection. The various characteristics and limitations of the methodologies are compared and contrasted, with the analytical parameters (matrix, pH, limit of detection, etc.) tabulated to aid comparison.

Koutecky-Levich analysis applied to nanoparticle modified rotating disk electrodes: Electrocatalysis or misinterpretation?

The application of naive Koutecky-Levich analysis to micro- and nano-particle modified rotating disk electrodes of partially covered and non-planar geometry is critically analysed. Assuming strong overlap of the diffusion fields of the particles such that transport to the entire surface is time-independent and one-dimensional, the observed voltammetric response reflects an apparent electrochemical rate constant kappo, equal to the true rate constant ko describing the redox reaction of interest on the surface of the nanoparticles and the ratio, ψ, of the total electroactive surface area to the geometric area of the rotating disk surface. It is demonstrated that Koutecky-Levich analysis is applicable and yields the expected plots of I−1 versus ω−1 where I is the current and ω is the rotation speed but that the values of the electrochemical rate constants inferred are thereof kappo, not ko. Thus, for ψ > 1 apparent electrocatalysis might be naively but wrongly inferred whereas for ψ < 1 the deduced electrochemical rate constant will be less than ko. Moreover, the effect of ψ on the observed rotating disk electrode voltammograms is significant, signalling the need for care in the overly simplistic application of Koutecky-Levich analysis to modified rotating electrodes, as is commonly applied for example in the analysis of possible oxygen reduction catalysts.

The anodic stripping voltammetry of nanoparticles: electrochemical evidence for the surface agglomeration of silver nanoparticles

Analytical expressions for the anodic stripping voltammetry of metallic nanoparticles from an electrode are provided. First, for reversible electron transfer, two limits are studied: that of diffusionally independent nanoparticles and the regime where the diffusion layers originating from each particle overlap strongly. Second, an analytical expression for the voltammetric response under conditions of irreversible electron transfer kinetics is also derived. These equations demonstrate how the peak potential for the stripping process is expected to occur at values negative of the formal potential for the redox process in which the surface immobilised nanoparticles are oxidised to the corresponding metal cation in the solution phase. This work is further developed by considering the surface energies of the nanoparticles and its effect on the formal potential for the oxidation. The change in the formal potential is modelled in accordance with the equations provided by Plieth [J. Phys. Chem., 1982, 86, 3166-3170]. The new analytical expressions are used to investigate the stripping of silver nanoparticles from a glassy carbon electrode. The relative invariance of the stripping peak potential at low surface coverages of silver is shown to be directly related to the surface agglomeration of the nanoparticles.

Electrochemical Oxidation of Guanine: Electrode Reaction Mechanism and Tailoring Carbon Electrode Surfaces To Switch between Adsorptive and Diffusional Responses

The electrochemical oxidation of guanine is studied in aqueous media at various carbon electrodes. Specifically edge plane pyrolytic graphite (EPPG), basal plane pyrolytic graphite (BPPG), and highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) were used, and the voltammetry was found to vary significantly. In all cases, signals characteristic of adsorbed guanine were seen and the total charge passed varied from surface to surface in the order roughened BPPG > EPPG > BPPG > HOPG. It is of note that the peak height for the EPPG electrode is less than that found for roughened BPPG; furthermore, across the series of electrodes, there is a significant decrease in peak potential with increasing density of edge plane sites present at the electrode surface. This leads us to conclude that there are two dominating and controlling factors present: (i) the density of basal plane sites on which guanine can adsorb and (ii) the density of edge plane sites necessary for the electro-oxidation of the analyte. This conclusion is corroborated through further experiments with multi- and single-walled carbon nanotubes. Adsorption was seen to be enhanced by modification of the EPPG surface with alumina particles, and as such, increased peak signals were observed in their presence. It is further reported that via the pre-adsorption of acetone onto the graphite surface that the adsorption of guanine may be blocked, resulting in a diffusional voltammetric signal. This diffusional response has been successfully modeled and gives insight into the complex -4e(-), -4H(+) oxidation mechanism; specifically, it enables explanation of the observed change in rate-determining step with scan rate. The oxidation of guanine first proceeds via a two-electron oxidation followed by a chemical step to form 8-oxoguanine, then 8-oxoguanine is then further oxidized to form nonelectroactive products. The change is mechanism is attributed to the variation in potential of the first and second electron transfer with scan rate.

Electrochemical observation of single collision events: fullerene nanoparticles.

Individual fullerene nanoparticles are detected and sized in a non-aqueous solution via cathodic particle coulometry where the direct, quantitative reduction of single nanoparticles is achieved upon collision with a potentiostated gold electrode. This is the first time that the nanoparticle impact technique has been shown to work in a non-aqueous electrolyte and utilized to coulometrically size carbonaceous nanoparticles. Contrast is drawn between single-nanoparticle electrochemistry and that seen using nanoparticle ensembles via modified electrodes.

Reversible or not? Distinguishing agglomeration and aggregation at the nanoscale.

Nanoparticles are prone to clustering either via aggregation (irreversible) or agglomeration (reversible) processes. It is exceedingly difficult to distinguish the two via conventional techniques such as dynamic light scattering (DLS), nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), or electron microscopy imaging (scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM)) as such techniques only generally confirm the presence of large particle clusters. Herein we develop a joint approach to tackle the issue of distinguishing between nanoparticle aggregation vs agglomeration by characterizing a colloidal system of Ag NPs using DLS, NTA, SEM imaging and the electrochemical nanoimpacts technique. In contrast to the conventional techniques which all reveal the presence of large clusters of particles, electrochemical nanoimpacts provide information regarding individual nanoparticles in the solution phase and reveal the presence of small nanoparticles (<30 nm) even in high ionic strength (above 0.5 M KCl) and allow a more complete analysis. The detection of small nanoparticles in high ionic strength media evidence the clustering to be a reversible process. As a result it is concluded that agglomeration rather than irreversible aggregation takes place. This observation is of general importance for all colloids as it provides a feasible analysis technique for a wide range of systems with an ability to distinguish subtly different processes.

New electrochemical methods.

Influence of Convection of Mass Transport F Theories of Electron and Proton Transfer F Nanoelectrochemistry andDouble Layer Structure G Development of New Electrochemical Pulse Procedures G Stochastic Methods in Voltammetry G Stochastic Experiments in Confined Volumes G Nanofluidic Experiments H Stochastic Theory in Electrochemistry H Nanoparticle Electrochemistry I Bioelectrochemistry I Nanopores and Single Molecule Detection J Single-Cell Electrochemistry K Outlook L Author Information L Biographies L References M

Recent Advances in Voltammetry.

Recent progress in the theory and practice of voltammetry is surveyed and evaluated. The transformation over the last decade of the level of modelling and simulation of experiments has realised major advances such that electrochemical techniques can be fully developed and applied to real chemical problems of distinct complexity. This review focuses on the topic areas of: multistep electrochemical processes, voltammetry in ionic liquids, the development and interpretation of theories of electron transfer (Butler–Volmer and Marcus–Hush), advances in voltammetric pulse techniques, stochastic random walk models of diffusion, the influence of migration under conditions of low support, voltammetry at rough and porous electrodes, and nanoparticle electrochemistry. The review of the latter field encompasses both the study of nanoparticle-modified electrodes, including stripping voltammetry and the new technique of ‘nano-impacts’.

Nanoparticle Impacts Show High‐Ionic‐Strength Citrate Avoids Aggregation of Silver Nanoparticles

Quantitative analytical detection and sizing of silver nanoparticles is achieved by applying the new electrochemical method nanoparticle coulometry. For the first time, tri-sodium citrate is used as both an electrolyte and a nanoparticle stabilizing agent, allowing the individual particles to be addressed.

Electrochemical detection of chloride levels in sweat using silver nanoparticles: a basis for the preliminary screening for cystic fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis is a common disease which has an associated characteristic symptom of high sweat chloride content. Thus, chloride ion quantification in sweat is important towards the screening of cystic fibrosis. Electrochemical methods, being cost effective and convenient, can be exploited for this. The electrochemical oxidation of silver nanoparticles in the absence of chloride ions gives one voltammetric signal related to the oxidation of silver to silver ions. The presence of chloride ions in the solution causes the appearance of an additional signal at a lower potential which is related to the oxidation of silver to silver chloride. This signal has a peak height which correlates linearly with the concentration of chloride ions from 2 mM to 40 mM when the electrochemical experiments are performed on silver nanoparticle modified screen printed electrodes. Thus, reliable quantification was found to be achievable. Furthermore, chloride ion levels of diluted synthetic sweat samples are measured accurately with the modified electrodes. Thus, the detection of the chloride ion concentration with a silver nanoparticle modified electrode provides a proof-of-concept for a point-of-care system for preliminary screening of cystic fibrosis.