Development of disposable amperometric sulfur dioxide biosensors based on screen printed electrodes

The possibility of developing amperometric biosensors for the measurement of SO2 in flowing gas streams has been examined. Screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs) were tailored with the enzyme sulfite oxidase and cytochrome c and the response is generated through the resulting enzymatic and electrocatalytic reactions involving SO32-, formed when SO2 gas is dissolved in the supporting electrolyte. Two methods of integrating the enzyme and cytochrome e with the SPCE were investigated. In one design (b-type biosensor), the components were mixed thoroughly with the same ink used to produce the SPCEs, then the modified ink was spread over the working electrode. In the second approach the bio-components were dissolved in the supporting electrolyte and simply deposited on top of the transducer (s-type biosensor). Both devices gave linear responses over the range 4-50 ppm but the sensitivity of the s-type was approximately twice that of the b-type biosensor. In addition, the time taken to reach 90% of the maximum response (t(90%)) was 110 s for the s-type biosensor compared with 200 s for the b-type biosensor. These studies illustrate the successful use of biosensors for the detection of sulfur dioxide at the relatively low potential of + 0.3 V versus Ag.AgCl and should provide useful alternatives for decentralised environmental studies. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.