Biomedical subjects

J F Patzer

Publications and source records attributed to J F Patzer.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1991

Voltage polarity relay--optimal control of electrochemical urea oxidation.

Voltage polarity relay (VPR) is shown to optimize the urea oxidation rate and urea current utilization under constant current conditions in direct electrochemical urea oxidation. Direct electrochemical urea oxidation is characterized by reversible deactivation of the working electrode due to oxidation products remaining on the surface and the requirement that the working electrode potential remain below about 1.1 V relative to Ag/AgCl in order to prevent undesirable secondary electrochemical oxidations. The VPR method monitors the potential of the working electrode relative to a suitable reference and changes system polarity when the upper potential set limit is reached. Thus, what was the working electrode becomes the counter electrode and vice versa. Since urea oxidation products are desorbed from the counter electrode when its potential drops below about -0.6 V relative to Ag/AgCl, alternating electrode functions between working and counter provides cyclic electrode regeneration and continuous urea oxidation. VPR is believed to optimize constant current control for any electrochemical system that exhibits behavior similar to direct electrochemical urea oxidation.

Electrochemistry↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A microchip glucose sensor.

A major problem in development of a glucose sensor for use in an implantable artificial pancreas is the lack of reproducibility in signals from sensor to sensor. Each glucose sensor fabricated with currently used methods has a unique response to varying levels of glucose concentration and thus needs to be individually calibrated before use. We have adapted microchip manufacturing techniques for the fabrication of electrochemically based glucose sensors with standardized and reproducible function. Scanning electron microscopic study of the resulting electrode surfaces shows them to be smooth and featureless at all levels of magnification. X-ray diffraction analysis of the electrodes indicates preferential exposure of the [1,1,1] crystal interface. Cyclic voltammetry evaluation of initial sensor response to varying glucose concentrations shows excellent sensor to sensor reproducibility for all sensors made with the same underlayment. Sensors made with titanium underlayment appear to be more differentiated and thus more sensitive to variations in glucose concentration than are sensors with chromium underlayment. Although the initial response of microchip glucose sensors appears to be standardized and reproducible, additional development of an appropriate electrical insulation material is required before long-term study of signal stability is feasible.

Biomedical Engineering↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Zeolitic ammonium ion exchange for portable hemodialysis dialysate regeneration.

Ammonia removal from a recirculating dialysate stream is a major challenge in developing a truly portable, regenerable hemodialysis system. Three zeolites, type F, type W, and clinoptilolite, were found to have good ammonia ion exchange capacity with linear equilibrium ion exchange coefficients of 0.908, 0.488, and 0.075 L/g, respectively. The linear equilibrium ion exchange coefficient relates dialysate ammonia concentration (mumol/L) to the amount of ammonia absorbed by zeolite (mumol/g) at equilibrium. Ammonia uptake by zeolite powders was fast, with equilibrium reached within 15 sec. Zeolite ammonia ion exchange and regeneration through multiple cycles was studied using an ion exchange column containing clinoptilolite pellets. Zeolite ion exchange capability was regenerated by flushing the column with 2 mol/L sodium chloride after an ion exchange run. The column maintained ammonia ion exchange capacity through six ion exchange/regeneration cycles, demonstrating multiple dialysis use possibilities. Atomic absorption spectroscopy of the column effluent showed no detectible (< 1 part per million) Si or Al leached from the zeolite.

Ammonia↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Ammonia transport across hydrophobic membranes. Application to dialysate regeneration.

Removal of ammonia from a recirculating dialysate buffer in a portable hemodialysis application can be achieved by countercurrent, gas phase ammonia transfer across a hydrophobic membrane into an acid solution. Ammonia transfer fluxes as high as 0.076 mumol/sec/m2 have been achieved using a Sarns Turbo Membrane Oxygenator (Sarns-3M, Ann Arbor, MI) with a 1.9 m2 membrane surface area (0.145 mumol/sec actual rate). A simple physical model based upon ammonia desorption at the gas-dialysate buffer interface in a membrane pore, ammonia diffusion through the gas filled pore, and subsequent ammonia absorption at the gas/acid interface side of the pore quantitatively describes the experimental data. The ammonia transfer rate is most dependent upon dialysate buffer pH (higher pH promoting transfer rate) and ammonia concentration in the dialysate buffer (higher concentrations promoting transfer rate). A 500 fold improvement in transfer rate, however, will be required for clinical application.

Absorption↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Interference of glucose sensing by amino acids.

Interference by membrane permeable substances on nonspecific electrodes is a major problem in glucose sensing. Alanine, lysine, phenylalanine, and cystine were chosen for study to gain insight into this problem. These compounds represent the classes of mono-amino aliphatic, di-amino aliphatic, aromatic, and sulfur containing amino acids, respectively. Cyclic voltammetry experiments were performed using a Pt electrode (1.77 mm2). The reductive current of glucose at -0.750 V versus Ag/AgCl was measured with increasing concentrations of interfering substances in Krebs-Ringer phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) at 37 degrees C. Experimental results have shown that these amino acids have an inhibitory effect on the glucose signal. An important finding was that the interferences from phenylalanine and cystine were more pronounced than those of lysine and alanine. An initial drop in the glucose signal was seen at less than 2.0 mg/dl of alanine or lysine and at less than 0.5 mg/dl of phenylalanine or cystine. Additional increase in the concentrations of interfering substance did not cause further appreciable signal reduction. The results confirm that glucose sensing using a non-specific electrode is possible in fluids containing interfering substances such as amino acids.

Alanine↗