UV cured biocompatible membrane for biosensor application

As a natural product, chitosan has the inherent properties of being biocomp atible, biodegradable, and non-toxic. These properties make chitosan an ide al candidate for inclusion in matrices designed for use in enzyme immobiliz ation for clinical analysis. The current work demonstrates the feasibility of using chitosan in electrochemical biosensor fabrication. The enzyme, sul fite oxidase (SOD), was covalently immobilized onto the matrix of chitosan- poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (chitosan-pHEMA), a natural/synthetic polym er hybrid material obtainable via a UV curing process. An electron transfer mediator, p-benzoquinone was coupled onto the polymer network for the acti vation of chitosan-pHEMA copolymer, after completion of the photo-induced p olymerization reaction. Chitosan-pHEMA was characterized using Fourier tran sform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetry (D SC) techniques. The biological activity of the immobilized SOD and the elec troactivity of the coupled p-benzoquinone were examined. (C) 2000 Society o f Chemical Industry.