A comparison of three amperometric phenoloxidase–Sonogel–Carbon based biosensors for determination of polyphenols in beers

Three phenoloxidases based biosensors were successfully developed using as electrochemical transducer a new type of electrode recently developed by our group: the “Sonogel–Carbon electrode”. The employed enzymes were Trametes versicolor laccase (Lac), Mushroom tyrosinase (Tyr), and Horseradish peroxidase (HRP). Immobilization step was accomplished by doping the electrode surface with a mixture of the individual enzyme and Nafion ion exchanger as additive-protective. The biosensor responses, optimized in beer real samples, were evaluated for five individual polyphenols. It was found that the developed biosensors were sensitive to nanomolar concentrations of the tested polyphenols. As example, the limit of detection, sensitivity, and response linear range for caffeic acid for Nafion-Lac/Sonogel–Carbon biosensor were 0.06 μmol L−1, 99.6 nA μmol−1 L, and 0.04–2 μmol L−1, respectively. The stability and reproducibility of the biosensors were evaluated by applying them directly to beer real samples. It has been demonstrated that the Nafion-Lac/Sonogel–Carbon system is the more stable with a relative standard deviation of 3.3% (n = 10), maintaining 84% of its stable response for at least three weeks. Estimation of polyphenol index in eight lager beers and a comparison of the results with those obtained by a classical method was carried out.