Carbon nanomaterials for electrochemical detection of neurotransmitters
Neuronal communication in the brain relies on precisely controlled dynamics of neurotransmitters, the molecules that are used for neuron-to-neuron signaling. Consequently, several diseases of the brain are either due to or associated with changes in the spatial and temporal kinetics of the neurotransmitters. Thus, in the treatments of neurological diseases, approaches aiming to affect the turnover and the amount of the neurotransmitters in the brain are widely used. There are many medical treatments, such as deep brain stimulation (DBS), which utilize electrical stimulation of the nervous system to improve the conditions of Parkinson’s patients, for instance. Results obtained from the studies related to the electrical stimulation of the central nervous system indicate strongly that it also induces changes in the amount of various neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and glutamate. Thus, it is important to be able to determine the concentrations of these substances accurately to have a better idea about their role in various diseases and to identify the effects of present treatments. Further, this information plays a crucial role when new clinical methods are developed to treat neurological disorders. We exploit the unique properties of our hybrid carbon nanomaterials in searching for new electrode materials to be used in miniaturized sensors intended ultimately for in vivo use. There are several challenges related to accurate measurements of neurotransmitters, such as sensitivity, selectivity, time resolution and biofouling. By utilizing the truly exceptional properties of the carbon hybrid nanomaterials we have shown that these challenges can be met. A close combination of simulations and experimental work is utilized while carrying out investigations.
Increased sensitivity and selectivity achieved by the hybrid nanocarbon material (DLC + CNT) [From: Sainio S., Palomäki T., Rhode S. Kauppila M., Pitkänen O., Selkälä T., Toth G., Kordas K., Moram M., Koskinen J., and Laurila T., “Carbon Nanotube (CNT) Forest on Diamond-like Carbon (DLC) Electrode Improves Electrochemical Sensitivity Towards Dopamine by Two Orders of Magnitude”, Sensors and Actuators B, 211, pp.177-186, (2015).]
Publications (since 2013):
Sainio S., Palomäki T., Rhode S. Kauppila M., Pitkänen O., Selkälä T., Toth G., Kordas K., Moram M., Koskinen J., and Laurila T., “Carbon Nanotube (CNT) Forest on Diamond-like Carbon (DLC) Electrode Improves Electrochemical Sensitivity Towards Dopamine by Two Orders of Magnitude”, Sensors and Actuators B, 211, pp.177-186, (2015).
Palomäki T, Chumillas S, Sainio S, Prototopova V, Kauppila M., Koskinen J, Climent V, Feliu J and Laurila T, ”Electrochemical Reactions of Catechol, Methylcatechol, and Dopamine on Tetrahedral Amorphous Carbon (ta-C) Thin Film Electrodes”, Diamond and Related Materials, 59, pp. 30-39, (2015).
Tujunen N., Kaivosoja E., Protopopova V., Valle-Delgado J. J., Österberg M., Koskinen J., and Laurila T., “Electrochemical detection of hydrogen peroxide on platinum-containing tetrahedral amorphous carbon sensors and evaluation of their biofouling properties”, Materials Science and Engineering C: Materials for biological applications, 55, pp. 70-78, (2015).
Kaivosoja E., Tujunen N., Jokinen V., Protopopova V., Heinilehto S., Koskinen J., Laurila T., “Glutamate detection by amino functionalized tetrahedral amorphous carbon surfaces”, Talanta, 141, pp. 175-181, (2015).
Lin J-F, Kukkola J., Sipola T., Mohl M., Toth, G., Su W-F., Laurila T. and Kordas K., “Trifluoroacetylazobenzes for optical and electrochemical detection of amines”, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 3, pp. 4687-4694, (2015).
Caro M., Määttä J., Lopez-Acevedo O and Laurila T., “Energy band alignment and electronic states of amorphous carbon surfaces in vacuo and in aqueous environment”, Journal of Applied Physics, 117, 034502, (2015).
Laurila T., Protopopova V, Rhode S., Sainio S., Palomäki T., Moram M., Feliu J., and Koskinen J., “New electrochemically improved tetrahedral amorphous carbon films for biosensor applications”, Diamond and Related Materials, 49, pp. 62-71, (2014).
Kaivosoja E., Sainio S., Lyytinen J., Palomäki T., Laurila T., Kim Sung I., Han J.G., and Koskinen J., ”Carbon thin films as electrode material in neural sensing”, Surface and Coating Technologies, 259, pp. 33-38, (2014).
Laurila T., Rautiainen A., Sintonen S., Jiang H., Kaivosoja E., and Koskinen J., ”Diamond-like carbon (DLC) thin film bioelectrodes: Effect of thermal post treatments and the use of Ti adhesion layer “, Materials Science and Engineering C: Materials for biological applications, 34, pp. 446-454, (2014).
Page content by: | Last updated: 06.04.2016.
