Electrochemical characterization of biosensor based on nitrite reductase and methyl viologen co-immobilized glassy carbon electrode

Nitrite reductase (NiR, nitric-oxide: ferricytochrome c oxidoreductase, EC 1.7.2.1) and methyl viologen (MV) were co-immobilized on glassy carbon electrode (GCE, d = 3 mm) by polymer entrapment, and the electrode was tested as an electrochemical biosensor for amperometric determination of nitrite. The immobilization was performed by sequential loading and drying of a homogeneous mixture of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), NiR and MV, followed by poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) solution, and finally hydrophilic polyurethane (HPU) dissolved in chloroform. The positively charged PAH layer could effectively keep immobilized cationic MV from diffusing through the membrane, holding mediator tightly near or on the electrode surface. The working principle of the biosensor was based on MV mediated electron transfer between electrode and immobilized NiR. The response time (t90%) of the biosensor was about 20 s and sensitivity was 11.8 nA/μM (2.5 mU NiR) with linear response range of 1.5–260 μM (r2 = 0.996) and detection limit of 1.5 μM (S/N = 3). Lineweaver–Burk plot showed that Michaelis–Menten constant (Km,app) was about 770 μM. The biosensor showed durable storage stability for 24 days (stored in ambient air at room temperature) retaining 80% of its initial activity, and showed satisfactory reproducibility (relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) = 3.8%, n = 9). Interference study showed that chlorate, chloride, sulfite, sulfate did not interfere with the nitrite determination, however, nitrate interfered with the determination with relative sensitivity of 38% (ratio of sensitivity for nitrate to that for nitrite). In addition to the full characterization of the biosensor, kinetic study was also conducted in solution and the homogeneous rate constant (k2) between NiR and MV were determined by chronoamperometry to be 5.8 × 105 M− 1 s− 1.