Stéphanie Patris

Highly sensitive determination of iodide by ion chromatography with amperometric detection at a silver-based carbon paste electrode

A silver-based solid carbon paste electrode was developed for use as a detector in ion chromatography (IC) for the sensitive determination of iodide in real samples. Micro- and nano-particles of silver were investigated for the fabrication of different electrodes. The iodide assay was based on IC with amperometric detection (IC-AD) at a silver composite electrode polarized at +0.080 V versus Ag/AgCl. Free iodide and organoiodide compounds were studied. The detection process was characterized by studying the redox behavior of iodide ions at both silver and silver composite electrodes by cyclic voltammetry (CV). The presence of iodide ions in solution was found to considerably facilitate metallic silver oxidation, with response currents directly related to iodide concentration. The calibration curve at the selected silver carbon paste electrode was linear in the concentration range comprised between 0.635 microg/L and 63.5 microg/L iodide. The relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) for successive injections was below 3% for all iodide standard solutions investigated. The limit of detection (LOD) was 0.47 microg/L (3.7 nmol/L) for an injection volume of 20 microL, i.e. 74 fmol injected. The IC-AD method was successfully applied to the determination of iodide in complex real samples such as table salts, sea products and iodide bound drug compounds. The analytical accuracy was verified by the assay of iodide in milk powder from an iodide certified reference material (CRM) Community Bureau of Reference (BCR) 150.

Nanoimmunoassay onto a screen printed electrode for HER2 breast cancer biomarker determination.

A chip format sandwich-type immunoassay based on Nanobodies(®) (Nbs) with the Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (HER2) extracellular domain as antigen model has been developed. The HER2 is considered as an important biomarker because its overexpression causes an aggressive type of breast cancer. Nbs are single domain antigen-binding fragments derived from camelid heavy-chain antibodies. The strategy of the presently developed sandwich immunoassay takes advantage of the small size of Nbs for the detection of the electroactive redox tracer onto the screen printed electrode (SPE). A capture anti HER2 Nb was covalently immobilized onto the SPE, and the detection Nb, raised against another epitope of HER2, was labeled with horseradish peroxidase (HRP). The biosensor signal corresponded to the electroreduction of para-quinone generated at the SPE by the HRP in the presence of hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide. The best performing and optimized immunoassay conditions consisted of 2 and 20 min for the first and the second incubation times, respectively. The amperometric signal obtained was proportional to the logarithm of HER2 concentration between 1 and 200 µg/mL and the modified SPE storage stability lasted for at least three weeks. Determination of HER2 in human cells has been realized.

Tyrosinase immobilized magnetic nanobeads for the amperometric assay of enzyme inhibitors: application to the skin whitening agents.

The immobilization of tyrosinase onto glutaraldehyde activated streptavidine magnetic particles and subsequent retention onto a magnetized carbon paste electrode for the amperometric assay of tyrosinase inhibitors is described. Tyrosine was used as substrate as it is the first substrate in the melanogenesis process. The sensing mode is based on monitoring the decrease of the amperometric signal corresponding to the electrochemical reduction of dopaquinone enzymatically generated. This current decrease is due to the presence of inhibitors acting directly on the enzyme or inhibitors acting on the product of the enzymatic reaction, i.e. dopaquinone. The methodology is designed for the evaluation of the inhibitory potency of the most frequently used active substances in cosmetic marketed products against hyperpigmentation such as kojic acid, azelaic acid and benzoic acid. These compounds bind to the tyrosinase active center. Ascorbic acid is also investigated as it interrupts the synthesis pathway of melanin by reducing the melanin intermediate dopaquinone back to l-dopa. By comparing the obtained IC(50), under the same experimental conditions, the order of their inhibitory potency was: kojic acid (IC(50)=3.7 × 10(-6)M, K(i)=8.6 × 10(-7)M), ascorbic acid (IC(50)=1.2 × 10(-5)M), benzoic acid (IC(50)=7.2 × 10(-5)M, K(i)=2.0 × 10(-5)M) and azelaic acid (IC(50)=1.3 × 10(-4)M, K(i)=4.2 × 10(-5)M) in close agreement with literature spectrophotometric inhibition data using the soluble tyrosinase.

Enzyme immobilized magnetic nanoparticles for in-line capillary electrophoresis and drug biotransformation studies: application to paracetamol.

Enzyme Immobilized Magnetic Nanoparticles (EMNPs) were injected and magnetically retained, as a microreactor, in the capillary of a capillary electrophoresis (CE) setup with UV detection. The enzyme horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was chemically immobilized onto commercially available magnetic 300 nm diameter nanoparticles. Paracetamol (acetaminophen: N-acetyl-p-aminophenol), a common analgesic drug, was used as model drug compound. The enzymatic reaction was studied in-line by CE in 12.5 mM phosphate buffer pH 7.4 containing 20 mg/ml sulfated- beta -cyclodextrin and 0.1 mM hydrogen peroxide. By means of the developed setup, the apparent Michaelis Menten constant between HRP and acetaminophen (APAP) was determined as K(m)(app) = 53+/-5 microM. This approach was found to be of interest for enzyme kinetics studies with short time resolution condition. Based on our results and from literature data, it was possible to infer that the in-line generated product was an APAP dimer. Higher enzyme immobilized beads loading in the CE setup generated the APAP dimer with two additional minor peaks likely attributed to APAP trimer and tetramer. N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI) was not generated during APAP short time migration through the in-line microreactor.

An experimental design approach to optimize an amperometric immunoassay on a screen printed electrode for Clostridium tetani antibody determination.

An immunoassay for the determination of anti-tetani antibodies has been developed using a screen printed electrode (SPE) as solid support for toxoid (antigen) immobilization. The assay was performed in guinea pig serum. The immunoreaction and the subsequent amperometric detection occurred directly onto the SPE surface. The assay consisted of spiking the anti-tetani sample directly onto the toxoid modified SPE, and then a second antibody, i.e. a HRP-labeled anti-immunoglobulin G, was deposited onto the biosensor. Subsequent amperometric detection was realized by spiking 10 µL of a hydroquinone (HQ) solution into 40 µL of buffer solution containing hydrogen peroxide. An experimental design approach was implemented for the optimization of the immunoassay. The variables of interest, such as bovine serum albumin (BSA) concentration, incubation times and labeled antibody dilution, were optimized with the aid of the response surface methodology using a circumscribed central composite design (CCCD). It was observed that two factors exhibited the greatest impact on the response, i.e. the anti-tetani incubation time and the dilution factor of the labeled antibody. It was discovered that in order to maximize the response, the dilution factor should be small, while the anti-tetani antibody incubation time should be long. The BSA concentration and the HRP-anti-IgG incubation had very limited influence. Under the optimized conditions, the immunoassay had a limit of detection of 0.011 IU/mL and a limit of quantification of 0.012 IU/mL. These values were below the protective human antibody limit of 0.06 IU/mL.

Flow-through enzyme immobilized amperometric detector for the rapid screening of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors by flow injection analysis.

A commercially available thin-layer flow-through amperometric detector, with the sensing block customized in an original design, was applied to the screening of drug compounds known as acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors. AChE from electric eel was covalently immobilized onto a cysteamine modified gold disk adjacent to a silver disk working electrode. On-line studies were performed by flow injection analysis (FIA) in PBS buffer pH 7.4. Seven commercially available AChE inhibitors used in the medical field, namely neostigmine, eserine, tacrine, donepezil, rivastigmine, pyridostigmine and galantamine as well as two natural compounds, quercetin and berberine, were investigated. The same trend of inhibitory potency as described in the literature was observed. Of particular interest and in addition to the determination of the IC50 values, this flow-through system allowed the study of both, the stability of the enzyme-inhibitor complex and the kinetic of the enzyme activity recovery.

Contribution of Electrochemistry to the Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Analytical Sciences.

All analytical techniques have experienced major progress since the last ten years and electroanalysis is also involved in this trend. The unique characteristics of phenomena occurring at the electrode-solution interface along with the variety of electrochemical methods currently available allow for a broad spectrum of applications. Potentiometric, conductometric, voltammetric and amperometric methods are briefly reviewed with a critical view in terms of performance of the developed instrumentation with special emphasis on pharmaceutical and biomedical applications.