Optical fiber biosensor coupled to chromatographic separation for screening of dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine in human urine and plasma

An optical fiber biosensor has been developed for the determination of catecholamines (dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine) based on the recognition capacity of the enzyme laccase. In this study, a glass tube constituted by a fused silica fiber coated with a film of polystyrene/divinylbenzene resin (PS/DVB) was used for catecholamines separation. Firstly, the analyzer was tested for calibration and its analytical performance for catecholamines detection was compared with a classical analytical method, namely high performance liquid chromatography-electrochemical detector (HPLC-ED). The developed analytical device shows a high potential for catecholamines quantification with a detection limit of 2.1, 2.6 and 3.4 pg mL−1 for dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine, respectively. The analytical sensitivity, inferred from the slope of the calibration curves established for a range of concentrations between 5 and 125 pg mL−1, was found to be 0.344, 0.252 and 0.140 dB/pg mL−1 for dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine, respectively. Furthermore, catecholamines speciation with the PS/DVB fiber was completely achieved in 3 min. The analytical performance of the reported sensor was also evaluated and found adequate for catecholamines determination in human urine and plasma samples.