Open AccessElectrochemical Probing through a Redox Capacitor To Acquire Chemical Information on Biothiols
Author(s) -
Zhengchun Liu,
Yi Liu,
Eunkyoung Kim,
William E. Bentley,
Gregory F. Payne
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
analytical chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.117
H-Index - 332
eISSN - 1520-6882
pISSN - 0003-2700
DOI - 10.1021/acs.analchem.6b01394
Subject(s) - chemistry , redox , electrochemistry , signal (programming language) , nanotechnology , molecule , chemical species , biological system , computer science , electrode , inorganic chemistry , organic chemistry , materials science , biology , programming language
The acquisition of chemical information is a critical need for medical diagnostics, food/environmental monitoring, and national security. Here, we report an electrochemical information processing approach that integrates (i) complex electrical inputs/outputs, (ii) mediators to transduce the electrical I/O into redox signals that can actively probe the chemical environment, and (iii) a redox capacitor that manipulates signals for information extraction. We demonstrate the capabilities of this chemical information processing strategy using biothiols because of the emerging importance of these molecules in medicine and because their distinct chemical properties allow evaluation of hypothesis-driven information probing. We show that input sequences can be tailored to probe for chemical information both qualitatively (step inputs probe for thiol-specific signatures) and quantitatively. Specifically, we observed picomolar limits of detection and linear responses to concentrations over 5 orders of magnitude (1 pM-0.1 μM). This approach allows the capabilities of signal processing to be extended for rapid, robust, and on-site analysis of chemical information.