An amperometric bi-enzyme sensor for glycolic acid determination based on spinach tissue and ferrocene-mediation

Hijacking plant skeletons for biomedical applications: from regenerative medicine and drug delivery to biosensing

The field of biomedical engineering continually seeks innovative technologies to address complex healthcare challenges, ranging from tissue regeneration to drug delivery and biosensing. Plant skeletons offer promising opportunities for these applications due to their unique hierarchical structures, desirable porosity, inherent biocompatibility, and adjustable mechanical properties. This review comprehensively discusses chemical principles underlying the utilization of plant-based scaffolds in biomedical engineering. Highlighting their structural integrity, tunable properties, and possibility of chemical modification, the review explores diverse preparation strategies to tailor plant skeleton properties for bone, neural, cardiovascular, skeletal muscle, and tendon tissue engineering. Such applications stem from the cellulosic three-dimensional structure of different parts of plants, which can mimic the complexity of native tissues and extracellular matrices, providing an ideal environment for cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. We also discuss the application of plant skeletons as carriers for drug delivery due to their structural diversity and versatility in encapsulating and releasing therapeutic agents with controlled kinetics. Furthermore, we present the emerging role played by plant-derived materials in biosensor development for diagnostic and monitoring purposes. Challenges and future directions in the field are also discussed, offering insights into the opportunities for future translation of sustainable plant-based technologies to address critical healthcare needs.

Development of amperometric biosensors for the determination of glycolic acid in real samples

The first enzyme-based biosensors capable of determining glycolic acid in various complex matrixes, such as cosmetics, instant coffee, and urine, are presented in this paper. Two separate designs, both based on a three-membrane configuration consisting of an inner cellulose acetate membrane (CA) and an outer polycarbonate membrane (PC), which sandwich a membrane bearing the biomolecule(s), are proposed. Glycolate oxidase was immobilized onto a modified polyethersulfonate membrane by means of chemical bonding, and glycolate oxidase/catalase enzyme mixture was immobilized into a mixed-ester cellulose acetate membrane through physical adsorption. The membrane assemblies were mounted on an amperometric flow cell (hydrogen peroxide detection at a platinum anode poised at +0.65 V vs Ag/AgCl/3 KCl) or on an oxygen electrode, respectively. Both configurations were optimized with respect to various working parameters. The proposed biosensors are interference-free to common electroactive species and were successfully applied for the determination of glycolic acid in various samples, showing an excellent agreement with a reference photometric method. The validity of the proposed method in samples, in which the reference method was not applicable, was tested with recovery studies. Values of 102 +/- % were obtained. Inherent interference of oxalic acid was manipulated by using a primary amine-containing buffer and the enzyme catalase. Both systems were designed in order to be compatible with the current technology of the most widely used commercial analyzers.

Determinação espectrofotométrica de ácido glicólico com ácido cromotrópico assistida por forno de microondas

No presente trabalho foi desenvolvido um método espectrofotométrico rápido, simples e seletivo para análise de ácido glicólico, o qual baseia-se na reação colorida entre o formaldeído liberado pelo ácido glicólico e o ácido cromotrópico, quando a reação é realizada em meio de ácido fosfórico concentrado e com aquecimento, utilizando para isso irradiação em forno de microondas doméstico para acelerar a reação. O composto corado formado apresenta um máximo de absorção a 570 nm, sendo necessários apenas 30 segundos de irradiação em forno de microondas (1100 Watts) para que a reação seja completa. A Lei de Beer é obedecida no intervalo de 0-2208 mg L-1. O método proposto foi aplicado na análise de amostras comerciais de ácido glicólico utilizadas em farmácias de manipulação no preparo de medicamentos de combate à acne, fornecendo bons resultados, com recobrimentos entre 97,0-101,4% e desvio padrão de 0,2-0,4%.

Plant tissue-based chemiluminescence flow biosensor for glycolic acid

A novel plant tissue-based chemiluminescence (CL) biosensor for glycolic acid combined with flow injection analysis is proposed in this paper. The spinach tissue acts as the molecular recognition element. Glycolic acid is oxidized by oxygen under the catalysis of glycolate oxidase in the tissue column to produce hydrogen peroxide, which can react with luminol in the presence of peroxidase of spinach tissue to generate a CL signal. The CL emission intensity was linear with glycolic acid concentration in the range of 4 x 10(-3)-4 x 10(-6) mol/L and the detection limit was 1.3 x 10(-6) mol/L. The biosensor was stable for about 3 weeks. A complete analysis, including sampling and washing, could be performed in 1.5 min with a relative standard deviation of 1.7%.