[Frontiers in Bioscience S3, 518-540, January 1, 2011]

Boron-doped diamond nano/microelectrodes for biosensing and in vitro measurements

Hua Dong1, Shihua Wang2, James J. Galligan3, Greg M. Swain4

1Department of Entomology and Cancer Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, 2Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, 3Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Michigan State University, MI 48824, 4Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, MI 48824

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. Deposition of boron-doped diamond (BDD) materials
3.1. Synthetic diamond
3.2. Deposition of nanocrystalline diamond
3.3. Preparation of BDD Microelectrode
4. Characterization of BDD thin films
4.1. Scanning electron microscopy
4.2. Conductive probe atomic force microscopy
4.3. Raman Spectra
4.4. Electrochemical characterization
5. Application of BDD electrode for bio-sensing and in vitro measurement of biomolecules
5.1. Continuous amperometry
5.1.1. Norepinephrine measurement from rat mesenteric artery
5.1.2. Serotonin (5-HT) measurement from guinea pig and rabbit intestinal mucosal layer, and rhesus monkey lymphocytes
5.1.3. Nitric oxide measurement from guinea pig ileum
5.1.4. Histamine measurement from oxyntic glands of guinea pig stomach
5.2. Fast scan cyclic voltammetry
5.2.1. Adenosine measurement from prebötzinger complex in rat brain stem
5.2.2. Serotonin (5-HT) measurement from aplysia californica metacerebral cell
6. Conclusions and perspective
7. References

1. ABSTRACT

Since the fabrication of the first diamond electrode in the mid 1980s, repid progress has been made on the development and application of this new type of electrode material. Boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes exhibit outstanding properties compared to oxygen-containing sp2 carbon electrodes. These properties make BDD electrodes an ideal choice for use in complex samples. In recent years, BDD microelectrodes have been applied to in vitro measurements of biological molecules in tissues and cells. This review will summarize recent progress in the development and applications of BDD electrodes in bio-sensing and in vitro measurements of biomolecules. In the first section, the methods for BDD diamond film deposition and BDD microelectrodes preparation are described. This is followed by a description and discussion of several approaches for characterization of the BDD electrode surface structure, morphology, and electrochemical activity. Further, application of BDD microelectrodes for use in the in vitro analysis of norepinephrine (NE), serotonin (5-HT), nitric oxide (NO), histamine, and adenosine from tissues are summarized and finally some of the remaining challenges are discussed.