Evaluation of amperometric glucose biosensors based on glucose oxidase encapsulated within enzymatically synthesized polyaniline and polypyrrole

In this article potential and suitability of enzymatically synthesized conducting polymers polyaniline (PANI) and polypyrrole (PPY) for fabrication of enzymatic amperometric glucose biosensors were evaluated. The polymerisation of these polymers was induced by catalytic activity of glucose oxidase (GOx) from Penicillium vitale cross-linked by glutaraldehyde (GA) on the graphite rod electrode (GOx-electrode) surface. The main precursors for initiation of polymerisation reactions were hydrogen peroxide as an initiator of polymerisation reaction and β-d-gluconic acid as a medium, which reduced the pH towards acidic one is the most suitable for the formation of PANI and PPY. During the polymerisation reactions the immobilized GOx was self-encapsulated within formed PANI or PPY layers in order to form GOx/PANI- and GOx/PPY-modified electrodes (GOx/PANI-electrode and GOx/PPY-electrode, respectively). Kinetic properties of GOx, which is acting as a biocatalyst in GOx/PANI- and GOx/PPY-electrodes, were studied and results were compared with GOx-electrode. The results show that in both GOx/PANI- and GOx/PPY-electrodes self-encapsulated GOx exhibited different parameters of catalysed reaction kinetics due to increasing diffusion limitations if compared with that of the GOx-electrode and it allowed the detection of glucose in a wider concentration interval. Moreover, both GOx/PANI- and GOx/PPY-electrodes exhibited good operational stability and reproducibility of analytical signal. The electrochemical characteristics of formed PANI and PPY in the GOx/PANI- and GOx/PPY-electrodes were also determined. In addition, the influence of temperature, pH and common interfering compounds on the steady-state current response of modified electrodes were investigated and discussed.