Enzyme biosensor for tomatine detection in tomatoes

A biosensor for detection of tomatine in tomatoes has been developed using pH-sensitive field effect transistor as transducer and immobilised enzyme butyryl cholinesterase (BuChE) as a biorecognition element. The main analytical characteristics of the biosensor developed were studied for different conditions. The possibility to optimise these working parameters was investigated. By using this biosensor and enzyme inhibition effect, the tomatine can be measured in the concentration range of 0.5-50 muM with a detection limit of 0.2 muM. Tomatine concentrations in different tomato juice samples were determined by such a biosensor, and a good correlation with the known real content was revealed. A high reproducibility and operational stability of the biosensor developed were shown.