Direct monitoring of organic vapours with amperometric enzyme gas sensors.

In this study, amperometric enzyme gas sensors for direct monitoring of organic vapours (formaldehyde, ethanol and phenol) are presented using exemplarily different sensing strategies: NADH detection, H(2)O(2) detection and direct substrate recycling, respectively. The presented sensor configurations allow the selective, continuous, online monitoring of organic vapours without prior accumulation or sampling of the analyte. The gaseous samples are provided as headspace above aqueous solutions. The concentration in the gas phase was calculated from the concentration in solution at room temperature according to the respective Henry constants given in the literature. The enzymes employed are NAD-dependent formaldehyde dehydrogenase [EC 1.2.1.46] from Pseudomonas putida, alcohol oxidase [EC 1.1.3.13] from Pichia pastoris, and tyrosinase [EC 1.14.18.1] from mushroom. The gas diffusion working electrodes used in the sensors are based on a porous, hydrophobic PTFE membrane (exposed geometric electrode area: 1.77 cm(2)) covered with a porous layer of gold, platinum or graphite/Teflon. Detection limit, sensitivity, and measuring range are 34 microM (6.5 ppb), 117 nA/mM, and 0.46-66.4 mM for formaldehyde, 9.9 microM (55 ppb), 3.43 microA/mM, and 0.1-30 mM for ethanol, and 0.89 microM (0.36 ppb), 2.4 microA/mM, and 0.01-1 mM for phenol, respectively. Further sensor characteristics such as response time and stability are also determined: t(90%) (formaldehyde: 4.5 min; ethanol: 69 s; phenol: 27 min), stability at permanent exposure (formaldehyde: 63%, 15 h @ 2.62 mM; ethanol: 86%, 18 @ 1 mM; phenol: 86%, 16.5 h @ 0.1 M).

Metal-organic frameworks for sensing applications in the gas phase.

Several metal-organic framework (MOF) materials were under investigated to test their applicability as sensor materials for impedimetric gas sensors. The materials were tested in a temperature range of 120 °C - 240 °C with varying concentrations of O(2), CO(2), C(3)H(8), NO, H(2), ethanol and methanol in the gas atmosphere and under different test gas humidity conditions. Different sensor configurations were studied in a frequency range of 1 Hz -1 MHz and time-continuous measurements were performed at 1 Hz. The materials did not show any impedance response to O(2), CO(2), C(3)H(8), NO, or H(2) in the gas atmospheres, although for some materials a significant impedance decrease was induced by a change of the ethanol or methanol concentration in the gas phase. Moreover, pronounced promising and reversible changes in the electric properties of a special MOF material were monitored under varying humidity, with a linear response curve at 120 °C. Further investigations were carried out with differently doped MOF materials of this class, to evaluate the influence of special dopants on the sensor effect.

Amperometric Enzyme-based Gas Sensor for Formaldehyde: Impact of Possible Interferences.

In this work, cross-sensitivities and environmental influences on the sensitivityand the functionality of an enzyme-based amperometric sensor system for the directdetection of formaldehyde from the gas phase are studied. The sensor shows a linearresponse curve for formaldehyde in the tested range (0 - 15 vppm) with a sensitivity of1.9 µA/ppm and a detection limit of about 130 ppb. Cross-sensitivities by environmentalgases like CO2, CO, NO, H2, and vapors of organic solvents like methanol and ethanol areevaluated as well as temperature and humidity influences on the sensor system. The sensorshowed neither significant signal to CO, H2, methanol or ethanol nor to variations in thehumidity of the test gas. As expected, temperature variations had the biggest influence onthe sensor sensitivity with variations in the sensor signal of up to 10 % of the signal for 5vppm CH2O in the range of 25 - 30 °C.