scholarly journals Electrochemical Biosensor for Markers of Neurological Esterase Inhibition

Biosensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 459
Author(s):  
Neda Rafat ◽  
Paul Satoh ◽  
Robert Mark Worden

A novel, integrated experimental and modeling framework was applied to an inhibition-based bi-enzyme (IBE) electrochemical biosensor to detect acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors that may trigger neurological diseases. The biosensor was fabricated by co-immobilizing AChE and tyrosinase (Tyr) on the gold working electrode of a screen-printed electrode (SPE) array. The reaction chemistry included a redox-recycle amplification mechanism to improve the biosensor’s current output and sensitivity. A mechanistic mathematical model of the biosensor was used to simulate key diffusion and reaction steps, including diffusion of AChE’s reactant (phenylacetate) and inhibitor, the reaction kinetics of the two enzymes, and electrochemical reaction kinetics at the SPE’s working electrode. The model was validated by showing that it could reproduce a steady-state biosensor current as a function of the inhibitor (PMSF) concentration and unsteady-state dynamics of the biosensor current following the addition of a reactant (phenylacetate) and inhibitor phenylmethylsulfonylfluoride). The model’s utility for characterizing and optimizing biosensor performance was then demonstrated. It was used to calculate the sensitivity of the biosensor’s current output and the redox-recycle amplification factor as a function of experimental variables. It was used to calculate dimensionless Damkohler numbers and current-control coefficients that indicated the degree to which individual diffusion and reaction steps limited the biosensor’s output current. Finally, the model’s utility in designing IBE biosensors and operating conditions that achieve specific performance criteria was discussed.

Biosensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 144
Author(s):  
Neda Rafat ◽  
Paul Satoh ◽  
Scott Calabrese Barton ◽  
Robert Mark Worden

Electrochemical immunosensors (EIs) integrate biorecognition molecules (e.g., antibodies) with redox enzymes (e.g., horseradish peroxidase) to combine the advantages of immunoassays (high sensitivity and selectivity) with those of electrochemical biosensors (quantitative electrical signal). However, the complex network of mass-transfer, catalysis, and electrochemical reaction steps that produce the electrical signal makes the design and optimization of EI systems challenging. This paper presents an integrated experimental and modeling framework to address this challenge. The framework includes (1) a mechanistic mathematical model that describes the rate of key mass-transfer and reaction steps; (2) a statistical-design-of-experiments study to optimize operating conditions and validate the mechanistic model; and (3) a novel dimensional analysis to assess the degree to which individual mass-transfer and reaction steps limit the EI’s signal amplitude and sensitivity. The validated mechanistic model was able to predict the effect of four independent variables (working electrode overpotential, pH, and concentrations of catechol and hydrogen peroxide) on the EI’s signal magnitude. The model was then used to calculate dimensionless groups, including Damkohler numbers, novel current-control coefficients, and sensitivity-control coefficients that indicated the extent to which the individual mass-transfer or reaction steps limited the EI’s signal amplitude and sensitivity.


Author(s):  
Tapan K. Ray ◽  
Pankaj Ekbote ◽  
Ranjan Ganguly ◽  
Amitava Gupta

Performance analysis of a 500 MWe steam turbine cycle is performed combining the thermodynamic first and second-law constraints to identify the potential avenues for significant enhancement in efficiency. The efficiency of certain plant components, e.g. condenser, feed water heaters etc., is not readily defined in the gamut of the first law, since their output do not involve any thermodynamic work. Performance criteria for such components are defined in a way which can easily be translated to the overall influence of the cycle input and output, and can be used to assess performances under different operating conditions. A performance calculation software has been developed that computes the energy and exergy flows using thermodynamic property values with the real time operation parameters at the terminal points of each system/equipment and evaluates the relevant rational performance parameters for them. Exergy-based analysis of the turbine cycle under different strategic conditions with different degrees of superheat and reheat sprays exhibit the extent of performance deterioration of the major equipment and its impact to the overall cycle efficiency. For example, during a unit operation with attemperation flow, a traditional energy analysis alone would wrongly indicate an improved thermal performance of HP heater 5, since the feed water temperature rise across it increases. However, the actual performance degradation is reflected as an exergy analysis indicates an increased exergy destruction within the HP heater 5 under reheat spray. These results corroborate to the deterioration of overall cycle efficiency and rightly assist operational optimization. The exergy-based analysis is found to offer a more direct tool for evaluating the commercial implication of the off-design operation of an individual component of a turbine cycle. The exergy destruction is also translated in terms of its environmental impact, since the irretrievable loss of useful work eventually leads to thermal pollution. The technique can be effectively used by practicing engineers in order to improve efficiency by reducing the avoidable exergy destruction, directly assisting the saving of energy resources and decreasing environmental pollution.


2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Guzman ◽  
Gisela Besa ◽  
Daniela Linares ◽  
Lara González ◽  
Caterina Pont ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The difficulty of finding new treatments for neurological diseases with great impact in our society like Alzheimer’s disease can be ascribed in part to the complexity of the nervous system and the lack of quick and cost-effective screening tools. Such tools could not only help to identify potential novel treatments, but could also be used to test environmental contaminants for their potential to cause neurotoxicity. It has been estimated that 5–10% of the anthropogenic chemicals are developmental neurotoxic (DNT) and exposure to DNT compounds has been linked to several neurological diseases. Within this study we were testing the applicability of a quick and cost-effective behavioural test using zebrafish embryos: the touch-evoked response assay, in this case, an assay evaluating the swimming response to a tap in the tail. Two acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors positive controls (paraoxon and huprine Y), as well as 10 huprine-derivative compounds were tested and the results were evaluated using 2 different methods, a quantitative and a qualitative one. Results We could show that the methodology presented is able to detect behavioural effects of AChE inhibitors. A good correlation between the results obtained with the quantitative and the qualitative method was obtained (R2 = 0.84). Conclusions Our proposed method enables combination of screening for new drugs with toxicity screening in a whole embryo model alternative to animal experimentation, thereby merging 2 drug development steps into one.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6388
Author(s):  
Karim M. El-Sharawy ◽  
Hatem Y. Diab ◽  
Mahmoud O. Abdelsalam ◽  
Mostafa I. Marei

This article presents a control strategy that enables both islanded and grid-tied operations of a three-phase inverter in distributed generation. This distributed generation (DG) is based on a dramatically evolved direct current (DC) source. A unified control strategy is introduced to operate the interface in either the isolated or grid-connected modes. The proposed control system is based on the instantaneous tracking of the active power flow in order to achieve current control in the grid-connected mode and retain the stability of the frequency using phase-locked loop (PLL) circuits at the point of common coupling (PCC), in addition to managing the reactive power supplied to the grid. On the other side, the proposed control system is also based on the instantaneous tracking of the voltage to achieve the voltage control in the standalone mode and retain the stability of the frequency by using another circuit including a special equation (wt = 2πft, f = 50 Hz). This utilization provides the ability to obtain voltage stability across the critical load. One benefit of the proposed control strategy is that the design of the controller remains unconverted for other operating conditions. The simulation results are added to evaluate the performance of the proposed control technology using a different method; the first method used basic proportional integration (PI) controllers, and the second method used adaptive proportional integration (PI) controllers, i.e., an Artificial Neural Network (ANN).


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meutia Ermina Toif ◽  
Muslikhin Hidayat ◽  
Rochmadi Rochmadi ◽  
Arief Budiman

Abstract Glucose is the primary derivative of lignocellulosic biomass, which is abundantly available. Glucose has excellent potential to be converted into valuable compounds such as ethanol, sorbitol, gluconic acid, and levulinic acid (LA). Levulinic acid is a very promising green platform chemical. It is composed of two functional groups, ketone and carboxylate groups which can act as highly reactive electrophiles for nucleophilic attack so it has extensive applications, including fuel additives, raw materials for the pharmaceutical industry, and cosmetics. The reaction kinetics of LA synthesis from glucose using hydrochloric acid catalyst (bronsted acid) were studied in a wide range of operating conditions, i.e., temperature of 140-180 oC, catalyst concentration of 0.5-1.5 M, and initial glucose concentration of 0.1-0.5 M. The highest LA yield is 48.34 %wt at 0.1 M initial glucose concentration, 1 M HCl, and temperature of 180 oC. The experimental results show that the bronsted acid catalyst's reaction pathway consists of glucose decomposition to levoglucosan (LG), conversion of LG to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), and rehydration of HMF to LA. The experimental data yields a good fitting by assuming a first-order reaction model.


1982 ◽  
Vol 104 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. Reid

The problem of definition of propulsion loss related to ship steering is addressed. Performance criteria representative of propulsion losses due to steering over a range of operating conditions including operation in calm water and a seaway are considered. Criteria are derived from strict analytical considerations and from empirical assumptions based on experimentally derived hydrodynamic data. The applicability of these various criteria and the implications for both assessment of relative performance of existing ship autopilots and for the design of new steering controllers is discussed in relation to simulation results for a high-speed containership.


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