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Applications of Electrochemical sensors

For detection of drugs


Precise and cheap methods for fast detection of drugs for the purposes of administration of appropriate medication are of paramount importance in clinical practice. Nowadays, many pharmaceutics with a high toxicity and narrow margin of safety are applied, so they should be delivered very precisely. Electrochemical methods have been used to determine the concentration of benzodiazepines, phenothiazines and paracetamol types of drugs. These drugs were widely tested, and their electrode reactions, dependences on the medium parameters and metabolism are known.

Effects of drugs on a patient depend on the dose and the regimen of its application. Nowadays, a lot of drugs are used, some of them being not quite neutral or harmless for human organism.Therefore, monitoring of the serum drug concentration is necessary during the period of the drug application. The therapeutical effect of medication has been confirmed to be dependent mostly on the concentration of the active drug in blood.Drugs very often may produce coincidental or intended intoxication and often a chance to save the patient's life in life threatening situations. Some of widely applied drugs such as: derivatives of benzodiazepine, phenothiazine and paracetamol, because of their chemical structure, can be detected electrochemically.

Biosensors are more and more often used in analytical laboratories for medical,
pharmaceutical and industrial purposes. From the presented considerations, it can be concluded that it is possible to construct cheap and easy in use electrochemical sensors for determination of drugs of the benzodiazepine and phenothiazine types. The electrode reactions of these drugs are well known, including metabolism of these drugs and synergetic effects with other disturbing agents. Ion selective electrodes sensitive to benzodiazepines and electrodes with modified surfaces are a new and promising approach to development of biosensors. Another interesting direction of research is studies on amperometric biosensor for determination of paracetamol. The screenprinting technology is highly applicable for the mass production of drug detecting biosensors.

Electrochemical Sensors for the Detection of Lead and Other Toxic Heavy Metals:
Among toxic heavy metals, lead continues to be one of the most problematic. Despite considerable efforts to identify and eliminate Pb exposure sources, this metal still remains a significant health concern and the guidelines for potential health effects are linked directly to measured blood Pb levels. Effecting the intellect levels of kids. Biomonitoring of Pb in humans represents an individuals current body burden, which is a function of recent and past exposures.

Biomonitoring of Pb in individuals presently relies on collection of biological samples for subsequent laboratory analysis by means of standard spectroscopic techniques such as atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and inductively coupled plasmamass spectrometry (ICP-MS). These analytical methods are generally conducted in centralized laboratories and require significant labor and analytical resources, potentially resulting in substantial delays in obtaining results Electrochemical detection based on stripping voltammetry appears to be a promising technique that meets those needs.Its high detection sensitivity is due to the combination of the built-in pre concentration step with powerful voltammetric techniques that generate an extremely favorable signal-to-noise ratio (S/N).

Biosensors and detectors for pesticides


Organic pollutants have been investigated widely in the laboratory, particularly pesticides. This has usyally been following separation of complex mixtures, and, if electrochemically, usually by oxidation at carbon electrodes; problems of electrode fouling can be acute. The use of biosensors, i.e., a modified electrode in which the modifier is a biologically active molecule, can lead to other possibilities [36].

These can either be highly specific, usually enzymes, or can be a general diagnostic, relying on the inhibitor action of a toxic pollutantpesticide, other organic pollutant, metal ion, etc.to reduce the response in some way. Many possibilities for environmental monitoring are illustrated in, particularly with respect to pollutant-related enzyme inhibition.

Applications
Electrochemical sensors are available for, e.g., SO2, H2S, NO2, COCl2, CO and O2. Except for O2 the widest application for electrochemical sensors has been as alarm/dosimeter systems rather than as continuous monitors. Because of the low power requirements and small size, the electrochemical sensor is ideally suited for use in combination monitors, that is, those that are able to monitor two or more substances at once. Many combination monitors are available, including in one package the sensors for oxygen deficiency, combustible gas, and toxic gas. The oxygen and toxic gas sensors are usually electrochemical. Electrochemical sensors may be located several meters away from the electronics/readout unit in order to facilitate remote or pre-entry monitoring. Because of the low power requirements of these devices, it is possible for them to be used in lightweight, personal monitor/alarm devices. Electrochemical sensors for oxygen deficiency, H2S, HCN, and others have been designed into monitor/dosimeter/alarm packages that are small enough to fit into a shirt pocket, that

weigh less than one pound (0.45 kg) and that operate continuously for as long as four months without changing the replaceable battery. Also, because of the low power required, it is relatively easy to design them to be intrinsically safe.

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