A simple strategy based on photobiotin irradiation for the photoelectrochemical immobilization of proteins on electrode surfaces

A photoactivable organic polymer was prepared first by electrogeneration of a conductive biotinylated polypyrrole film in acetonitrile electrolyte. The successive anchoring of avidin and photobiotin led to a multilayer configuration. The latter was illuminated with light (wavelength 370–400 nm) in the presence of proteins adsorbed onto its surface. The irradiation allowed the covalent linking of the proteins to the modified electrode. As a result of the photochemical reaction, a monolayer of enzyme (glucose oxidase, GOX or alkaline phosphatase, AP) was covalently bound to the photobiotin-modified surface with retention of their catalytic activities. The surfacic activities were 34 and 1.69 mU cm− 2 for GOX and AP photobiotin electrodes, respectively. These enzyme electrodes were compared to similar configurations obtained through the immobilization of biotinylated glucose oxidase or avidin-conjugated alkaline phosphatase on biotinylated polypyrrole film. Our results suggest that both procedures led to the immobilization of the same enzyme amount, namely a protein monolayer. This novel photo-immobilization methodology was also successfully applied to the anchoring of an anti-cholera toxin antibody which was then detected by a secondary antibody labelled with a peroxidase.