Amperometric biosensor based on tyrosinase immobilized on a boron-doped diamond electrode

A novel method has been developed to immobilize tyrosinase onto the surface of boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrode. The hydrogen-terminated BDD (HBDD) surface was first functionalized by photochemically linking vinyl groups of allylamine, producing covalently linked amine-terminated active BDD (ABDD) surface. Then the tyrosinase was immobilized onto the ABDD surface by carbodiimide coupling reaction. The amperometric response was measured as a function of concentration of phenolic compounds in 0.1 M phosphate buffer solution (pH 6.5). The tyrosinase-modified ABDD electrode gave a linear response range of 1–175, 1–200 and 1–200 μM and sensitivity of 80.0, 181.4 and 110.0 mA M−1 cm−2 for phenol, p-cresol, 4-chlorophenol, respectively. Moreover, selective detection of dopamine (DA) in the presence of ascorbic acid (AA) has been demonstrated with the tyrosinase-modified ABDD electrode. Linearity was observed within the range of 5–120 μM. The above enzyme electrode could maintain 90% of its original activity after intermittent use for 1 month when storing in a dry state at 4 °C.