Disposable strip-type biosensors for amperometric determination of galactose

Abstract

A development of disposable strip-type galactose sensor for point-of-care testing (POCT) was studied, which was constructed using screen-printed carbon electrodes. Galactose levels were determined by the redox reaction of galactose oxidase in the presence of potassium ferricyanide as an electron transfer mediator in a small sample volume (i.e., less than 1 µL). The optimal performance of biosensor was systematically designated by varying applied potential, operating pH, mediator concentration, and amount of enzyme on the electrode. The sensor system was identified as a highly active for the galactose measurement in terms of the sensitivity (slope = 4.76 ± 0.05 nA/µM) with high sensor-to-sensor reproducibility, the linearity (R2 = 0.9915 in galactose concentration range from 0 to 400 µM), and response time (t95% = <17 s). A lower applied potential (i.e., 0.25 V vs. Ag/AgCl) allowed to minimize interference from readily oxidizable metabolites such as ascorbic acid, acetaminophen, uric acid, and acetoacetic acid. The proposed galactose sensor represents a promising system with advantage for use in POCT.