ANALYTICAL METHOD AND APPARATUS

Abstract: Method and electrodes (individual or composite) for detection and measurement of hydrogen peroxide by electrolytic analysis (especially amperometrically), in which the electrode has a surface coating of selective permeability formed by electrolytically oxidising a phenolic compound (especially phenol itself or dopamine). This is especially applicable to examination of biological samples, e.g. blood or serum. The electrode is preferably platinum, and during the coating procedure and/or use may be surrounded with a permeable membrane (e.g. polymer, and especially a polycarbonate 0.03 to 0.05 (my)m thick). The properties of the coating may be controlled, e.g. by the applied voltage for the oxidation, and is usually 0.1 (my)m or less in thickness. One form of assembly uses such a coated electrode as anode, with a surrounding cathode and a membrane retaining an electrolyte, preferably buffered. The hydrogen peroxide may be present as such or produced by an enzyme system.

Description: ANALYTICAL METHOD AND APPARATUS. This invention relates to an improved analytical method and apparatus, more particularly those useful for electro-analytical work and especially in amperometric measurements of hydrogen peroxide, and to analytical methods using them. It is known to use electrodes in analytical procedures to detect and measure a variety of chemical species present in a liquid medium. The procedures may involve the measurement of various properties of the medium so that the presence of particular chemical species or groups of such species may be detected or measured. It is desirable to make these measurements as accurate, quantitative and selective as possible, so that the result of the measurements can be interpreted and used with maximum reliability. One use for such electrodes is in the analysis of blood or serum, to detect amounts of components which may be very small but also very significant for diagnostic purposes. Especially, it is often important to measure hydrogen peroxide — which may be generated in situ as a result of the action of cellular enzymes (as present in leukocytes) or an immobilised or soluble oxidase enzyme. Oxidases are used as reagents in various biological media, and so it is often desirable to be able to detect their activity. Unfortunately, biological fluids, especially blood and serum, contain a variety of components which interfere with these methods, and especially the electrolytic ones. These result in interference or electrode fouling, so that the measurements become inaccurate or even impossible to make. The presence of a variety of drugs, which the patient may have used, also can interfere seriously with the accuracy of the measurement. Thus, the electrodes suffer from the disadvantages of being subject to interference from a variety of chemical species other than the ones sought, so that the accuracy of the measurements often falls short of the reliability required to be clinically useful. It has been proposed to reduce this interference in use by lowering the polarising voltage applied to the electrode, but this is not always satisfactory because reduction of the voltage sufficiently to reduce the interference usually makes it impossible to maintain a voltage high enough to achieve the electrode reaction desired for the measurement to be made. It has also been proposed to reduce this interference by interposing membranes between the electrode and the liquid medium (e.g. serum) being analysed, to exclude interfering components. In this, the membrane acts in a selectively permeable manner, physically holding back some components and allowing others to pass through and reach the electrode. This has not been entirely satisfactory because of the difficulty of finding a membrane material which will have the desired selectivity and also the problems of relying entirely on a fragile barrier. We have now found that the problem may be overcome by forming a coating on the surface of the electrode itself to act as a selectively permeable barrier for undesirable components of the liquid medium being analysed. Such a coating can be made by electrochemical oxidation of certain phenolic materials in situ at the electrode surface. Thus according to our invention we provide an improved method for making an electrode having a coating of selective permeability, which comprises electrolytically oxidising a phenolic compound at the surface of the said electrode, whereby selectivity can be varied in a controlled manner. According to our invention, we also provide new electrodes having a coating of an oxidised phenolic compound on their surface . The deposit on the electrode surface, though formed by electrolytic oxidation, may sometimes be referred to as a "polymerised phenol" though this term may be not entirely appropriate. It is referred to herein as an "oxidised phenol." The electrode itself may be any electrode having the properties of an anode at which the current for peroxide or any other species which may be sought may be determined. It is preferably platinum metal, but it may be any other conventional forms for example gold or glassy carbon. The phenolic compound may be substituted (for example with alkyl groups, halogens, amino groups, carboxylic acid groups, or combinations of these) but should allow ortho- to para- radical polymerisation following generation of a radical phenol electrochemically, and preferably any substituents should be ones not causing major steric hindrance. The term phenolic compound or "phenol" is also used here to include polyhydric phenolic compounds (for example catechol) and polycyclic phenolic compounds (for example naphthols) , which may if desired be substituted, as mentioned above. Especially useful examples of phenolic compounds are phenol itself and dopamine. The anode may be prepared for the coating operation by thorough cleaning, by any procedure which will remove all adherent material from its surface and leave the surface (usually a metal) clean and ready for re-use. Suitable cleaning media for platinum and gold include fine abrasives, for example alumina, and chemical reagents, for example nitric acid. The coated electrode can usually be used for over 1 to 2 days, or even longer, before it becomes less efficient and needs to be treated to restore its efficiency. When this is required, as indicated by an enhanced current signal to hydrogen peroxide or to interferents, the re-coating can be readily carried out by direct repetition of the initial coating procedure or by first ensuring that the electrode surface is cleaned thoroughly. The cleaned surface can then be re-coated, by repetition of the procedure described herein. The formation of the coating on the electrode surface may be achieved by making the electrode the anode in an electrical circuit and immersing the electrode in a liquid medium containing the said phenolic compound; and then applying a voltage to the electrode sufficient to oxidise the phenolic compound at its surface. This procedure can be continued until the thickness of the coating on the electrode surface is sufficient. The resulting film is usually very thin, for example less than 0.1 / or even less than O.Ol^im. Conveniently, the voltage applied to form the coating or film is in the range + 0.4 to + 0.8 volts or higher, if so desired (commonly about + 0.6 volt), as measured against a silver/silver chloride electrode, but voltages outside this range may be used if desired. In general, using a lower voltage requires a longer deposition time, and the properties of the deposited film may be modified or controlled by the voltage level used to form it. The liquid medium containing the phenolic compound may be at any convenient pH, with more efficient polymerisation of the phenolic compound usually being achieved at the more alkaline pH values. A convenient pH, we find, is approximately 7.4. Likewise, the liquid medium may contain a concentration of the phenolic compound which may vary over a considerable range, for example in the range of 1 to 50 mM (though concentrations outside this range may be used if desired). For example, a convenient concentration is approximately 5 mM of phenol (or dopamine) but this is not critical. The method of our invention may be used to produce new electrodes which are useful for the analysis in a biological environment, for example in biological fluids and under biological conditions. Especially, it provides electrodes which are useful for the measurement of the components of blood and serum while eliminating interferents. By controlled film deposition, it is possible to form an array of cross-reacting sensors which enable the user to "pattern recognise" some analytes. In use, the electrode may be immersed in a sample of the fluid (e.g. blood) and then linked with a suitable cathode in conventional manner. Measurement of the voltage, current and the like may be taken and the measurements taken and recorded as desired, intermittently or continuously. For this, conventional apparatus may be used. The method can be carried out using conventional electrodes, for example as in an oxygen cell, but with the anode as the platinum metal and the cathode as the silver/silver chloride electrode (which also acts as a pseudo-reference electrode). A three-electrode cell of working/reference/counter electrodes can also be employed if desired for the coating procedure using the phenolic compound. Operating in the amperometric mode, the use of the electrode as anode in a liquid medium as electrolyte displays a high degree of selectivity to hydrogen peroxide and is exceptionally free from interference from the presence of a number of compounds which normally are prone to interfere considerably, for example ascorbate, urate, paracetamol and other components in serum. Selectivity is superior to that obtainable using the conventional cellulose acetate membranes, as in oxidase-based bio-sensors and has the added advantage of much faster response times. To improve the selectivity attainable, and also to protect the coated electrode from possible damage, e.g. attrition or erosion which could break the continuity of the coating, we prefer to surround the electrode with a membrane to avoid mechanical damage to the coating. This membrane may be composed of any permeable polymer layer, for example a dialysis membrane or a polycarbonate with pores, depending upon the application intended. According to our invention we also provide a new composite electrode device comprising as anode an electrode having a coating of an oxidised phenolic compound on its surface (as more fully described above) in conjunction with a second electrode as cathode, with the two electrodes being held together in an assembly which prevents direct electrical contact between them. In one construction, a cathode surrounds the anode, and is spaced from it by a non-conductive spacer element which also secures a membrane in place around the anode and the cathode in a sealed relationship which provides a means for retaining an appropriate electrolyte between the membrane and the anode and also provides some added physical protection of the anode against surface damage. According to our invention we also provide an improved method for the detection and measurement of hydrogen peroxide or any other desired species, which comprises adding a sample material under examination to a liquid medium and then detecting, by electrolytic analysis (especially amperometrically) the amount of hydrogen peroxide (or other desired species, as the case may be) present as such or indirectly formed (e.g. from an enzymic reaction) using an electrode having a coating of selective permeability made by electrolytically oxidising a phenolic compound at the surface of the said electrode. This can be used to measure the amount of hydrogen peroxide, etc., however it may be present. Thus it may be present as such or generated in situ, for example by enzymic action, especially an enzymic reaction at or near the electrode surface. When the hydrogen peroxide to be measured is generated by enzymic action, the enzymes used (usually oxidases) may be any of those known in the art, and they may be located anywhere in the system which is found to be convenient , provided they are detrimental to the function of the "oxidised phenol" coating. Thus the enzyme may be free (e.g. in solution) or immobilised, and may even be made part of an electrode or sensor assembly. Such enzymes, methods for immobilising them, and forms of construction for using them with or as part of an electrode or sensor system are wel1 known in the art . The sample may especially be a biological one, for example a biological fluid and especially blood or serum. The liquid medium, which acts as the electrolyte in the cell containing an electrode of the present invention, may be any in which the desired action of the enzyme can take place and in which the components are soluble. Thus, it need not necessarily be aqueous, and organic solvents (as such or as mixtures with, each other and/or water) may be used provided that they do not interfere with the desired electrochemical processes and the deposition of the film on the anode. Preferably, the electrolyte is an aqueous buffer solution (most conveniently a phosphate buffer solution) which maintains the pH of the solution and added sample at a desired level. This pH is not critical in the broad sense, as it depend principally on the pH needs of the enzyme for its activity. An example is thus approximately pH 7.4 (the pH of blood). The proportion of the hydrogen peroxide or peroxide precursor in it is preferably in the range 10 to 10 M of the liquid medium, though larger or smaller proportions may be used if desired. Water-miscible organic solvents may be present if they do not interfere with the essential oxidation or reduction processes involved. The procedure and apparatus to be used for carrying out the amperometric electrolytic analysis, and for displaying and/or recording the resulting measurements, may be any of those which are known or conventional for the purpose. According to our invention we also provide an improved electrode system for use in amperometric analysis which comprises an electrode as defined above, i.e. an electrode having a coating of selective permeability comprising a film of an oxidised phenolic compound on its surface. The sample of the blood or serum for examination may be obtained by standard methods. The quantity of the blood or serum added to the liquid medium should be such as to provide a quantity in the range 10~ 5 to 10 "2 M/l of the liquid medium. The procedure can be much improved by surrounding the anode with a membrane which serves to reduce the access of undesired materials to the anode surface. This membrane may act by virtue of its effectiveness as a dialysis membrane (i.e. by impeding passage of larger molecules) or as a perm-selective membrane (which controls the passage of molecules or ions according to their properties other than just physical size). These function to reduce the fouling of the electrode and increase accuracy. Such a membrane may be for example composed of conventional materials, especially a polycarbonate, cellulose acetate, nitro¬ cellulose, or the like. A convenient example is an outer polycarbonate membrane of thickness 0.03 to 0.05 um, which allowed the phenolic compound to pass through to the pla inum surface. This (a) prevented any damage or scratching of the surface films and (b) allowed slower, more controlled deposition of the phenolic compounds. The physical state of the membrane may be controlled in terms of such features as thickness, pore size, and any other feature which may have an effect on it permeability so as to control diffusion to the electrode surface to prevent excess of solute exposure. In use, the polarised electrodes (or a composite structure ccanprising both anode and cathode in a single assembly) may be immersed in a predetermined volume of the buffer solution to which can be added the sample (for example a sample of blood or serum) under test, so that the amperometric measurements made and compared before and after the addition of the sample under test. The procedure may also be calibrated by use of solutions containing known amounts of any components sought or believed to interfere, so that the results can be properly standardised and the apparatus calibrated. Conventional apparatus may be used, for the cell, electrodes and the measurement and recording of the current-time relationships for the samples under test . Measurements may be made continuously or intermittently, as desired. The membrane and/or anode may be prepared for use in the analytical process of the invention by soaking it, when it is in place around the anode, in a solution corresponding to the electrolyte medium before the blood/serum sample is added. The advantages of the invention are that the interference from other components of blood and serum can be eliminated or at least greatly reduced to a level at which they no longer interfere with the measurement to a degree which renders the measurements unreliable or misleading under clinical conditions.

Claims: CLAIMS: - 1. Method for the detection and measurement of hydrogen peroxide (or other desired species, as the case may be) which comprises adding a sample material under examination to a liquid medium and then detecting, by electrolytic analysis (especially amperometrically) the amount of hydrogen peroxide present, as such or indirectly formed (for example as a result of an enzymic reaction), using an electrode having a coating of selective permeability made by electrolytically oxidising a phenolic compound at the surface of the said electrode. 2. Method as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the coating on the electrode surface is formed by making the electrode the anode in an electrical circuit and immersing the electrode in a liquid medium containing the phenolic compound, and then applying a voltage to the electrode sufficient to oxidise the phenolic compound at its surface. 3. Method as claimed in Claim lor Claim 2 wherein the thickness of the coating on the electrode surface O.lyυm or less. 4. Method as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 3 wherein the phenolic compound is phenol itself or dopamine. 5. Method as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 4 wherein the electrode carrying the coating is made of platinum. 6. Method as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 5 wherein the voltage applied to form the surface coating is in the range + 0.4 to 0.8 volts (preferably about + 0.6 volt) against a silver/silver chloride electrode. 8. Method as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 6 wherein the electrode is surrounded with a membrane, for example a permeable polymer layer. 9. Method as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 8 wherein the sample material under examination is a biological sample, for example a biological fluid, especially blood or serum. 9. Method for the detection and measurement of hydrogen peroxide substantially as described. 10. Method for making an electrode having a coating of selective permeability, useful for the method claimed in any of Claims 1 to 9, which comprises electrolytically oxidising a phenolic compound at the surface of the said electrode. 11. Method as claimed in Claim 10 wherein the voltage applied to form the surface coating is in the range + 0.4 to 0.8 volts (preferably about + 0.6 volt) against a silver/silver chloride electrode. 12. Method for making an electrode having a coating of selective permeabil ity , useful for the method claimed in any of Claims 1 to 9 , substant ial ly as described . 13. An electrode having on its surface a coat ing of select ive permeabi l ity compr i s ing a f i l m of an oxi d i sed phenol i c compound . 14. An electrode having on its surface a coating of an oxidised phenolic compound, whenever made by a method claimed in any of Claims 10 to 12. 15. An electrode assembly comprising as anode an electrode as claimed in Claim 13 or Claim 14 in conjunction with a second electrode as cathode, the two electrodes being held together in an assembly which prevents direct electrical contact between them. 16. Electrode or electrode assembly as claimed in any of Claims 13 to 15 wherein the anode is surrounded with a membrane which serves to reduce the access of undesired materials to the anode surface, for example a dialysis membrane or a perm-selective membrane, and preferably a polycarbonate 0.03 to 0.05yum thick. 17. An electrode assembly as claimed in Claim 16 wherein the cathode surrounds the anode, and is spaced from it by a non- conductive spacer element which also secures a membrane in place around the anode in a sealed relationship which provides a means for retaining an appropriate electrolyte between the membrane and the anode and also provides some added physical protection of the anode against surface damage. 18. An electrode assembly as claimed in Claim 17 wherein the electrolyte is an aqueous buffer solution (most conveniently a phosphate buffer solution) to maintain a desired pH. 19. Electrodes and electrode assemblies, useful for the detection and measurement of hydrogen peroxide, substantially as described.

Inventors: CHRISTIE IAN MCINTYRE, LLOYD SHERIDAN JAMES, VADGAMA PANKAJ MADGANLAL, CHRISTIE, IAN, MCINTYRE, LLOYD, SHERIDAN, JAMES, VADGAMA, PANKAJ, MADGANLAL
Applicants: CHRISTIE IAN MCINTYRE, LLOYD SHERIDAN JAMES, UNIV MANCHESTER, VADGAMA PANKAJ MADGANLAL, THE VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER
Application year: 1993
Main classification: C12Q1
IPC codes: C12Q1, G01N27, G01N33