Self-assembly and sensor response of photosynthetic reaction centers on screen-printed electrodes

Photosynthetic reaction centers were immobilized onto gold screen-printed electrodes (Au-SPEs) using a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) which was deliberately defective in order to achieve effective mediator transfer to the electrodes. The pure Photosystem II (PS II) cores from spinach immobilize onto the electrodes very efficiently but fair badly in terms of photocurrent response (measured using duroquinone as the redox mediator). The cruder preparation of PS II known as BBY particles performs significantly better under the same experimental conditions and shows a photocurrent response of 20–35 nA (depending on preparation) per screen-printed electrode surface (12.5 mm2). The data was corroborated using AFM, showing that in the case of BBY particles a defective biolayer is indeed formed, with grooves spanning the whole thickness of the layer enhancing the possibility of mass transfer to the electrodes and enabling biosensing. In comparison, the PS II core layer showed ultra-dense organization, with additional formation of aggregates on top of the single protein layer, thus blocking mediator access to the electrodes and/or binding sites. The defective monolayer biosensor with BBY particles was successfully applied for the detection of photosynthesis inhibitors, demonstrating that the inhibitor binding site remained accessible to both the inhibitor and the external redox mediator. Biosensing was demonstrated using picric acid and atrazine. The detection limits were 1.15 nM for atrazine and 157 nM for picric acid.

.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights
► New simple immobilization procedure for photosynthetic reaction centers on gold electrodes.
► Improved access of the mediator to the electrodes and faster response due to deliberately defective mercaptopropionic acid SAM.
► Method suitable for screen-printed gold electrodes
► Atrazine and picric acid detected by respective sensor.