Pulsed amperometric detection of glucose in biological fluids at a surface-modified gold electrode.

A nonenzymatic glucose sensor that utilizes permselective membranes to achieve the selectivity required for screening glucose in biological fluids has been described. Interference from endogenous oxidizable substances such as amino acids, urea, ascorbic acid, and uric acid, as well as the effect of chloride and proteins on glucose response, is studied by using flow injection analysis. A set of membranes made of Naflin perfluorinated membrane and collagen, when arranged in front of the working electrode (gold), result in significant improvement in the system selectivity. Even at physiological pH, which is far from being the optimum pH for pulsed amperometric detection of carbohydrates, the sensor shows a good limit of detection (4-5 micrograms of glucose injected).