O. Adeyoju et al., REACTIVITIES OF AMPEROMETRIC ORGANIC-PHASE PEROXIDASE-MODIFIED ELECTRODES IN THE PRESENCE AND ABSENCE OF THIOUREA AND ETHYLENETHIOUREA AS INHIBITORS, Analytica chimica acta, 305(1-3), 1995, pp. 57-64
The reactivities of amperometric horseradish peroxidase (HRP) electrod
es in acetonitrile, methanol and acetone were studied by cyclic voltam
metry, 1,1-Dimethylferrocene (DMFc) was used as a soluble electron tra
nsfer mediator. The responses of the HRP electrode to butanone peroxid
e (BTP) as a substrate, and thiourea (THU) and ethylenethiourea (ETU)
as inhibitors, were measured. Michaelis-Menten analyses of the calibra
tion curves obtained for BTP, THU and ETU in the solvents were carried
out to determine the apparent Michaelis-Menten constant (K-m'), the l
imiting current (I-max) and the apparent inhibition constant (K-i'). T
he catalytic efficiency of the biosensor was determined as the ratio o
f the peak current controlled by the enzyme catalytic reduction of BTP
to that controlled by the diffusion of DMFc to the electrode surface
(I-k/I-d). The values of the Michaelis-Menten kinetic parameters and I
-k/I-d were used to assess the performance of the peroxide sensor in t
he presence and absence of inhibitors. Our results indicate a decrease
in sensor performance with increasing solvent hydrophilicity (methano
l > acetonitrile > acetone). This has been attributed to the ability o
f the hydrophilic solvents to desorb essential water of hydration from
the enzyme active site. This removal of water decreases the rate of e
nzymatic reaction and subsequently the catalytic performance of the se
nsor.