Bioelectrochemical analysis of neuropathy target esterase activity in blood

Bioelectrochemical analysis of neuropathy target esterase (NTE) and its inh ibitors is based on the combination of the NTE-catalyzed hydrolysis of phen yl valerate and phenol detection by a tyrosinase carbon-paste electrode. Th e use of the tyrosinase electrode improves 10-fold the sensitivity of NTE d etection in comparison with a spectrophotometric method. The tyrosinase ele ctrode was found to be suitable for measurements in whole human blood where spectrophotometric detection is considerably restricted. The specificity o f NTE in blood for mipafox and di-2-propyl phosphorofluoridate was close to that for neuronal NTE. The NTE-like activity in blood was determined to be 0.19 +/- 0.02 nmol/min/mg of protein. (C) 2001 Academic Press.