Biomedical subjects

Martin Arundell

Publications and source records attributed to Martin Arundell.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Detection of nitric oxide release from single neurons in the pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis.

Multiple film-coated nitric oxide sensors have been fabricated using Nafion and electropolymerized polyeugenol or o-phenylenediamine on 30-microm carbon fiber disk electrodes. This is a rare study that utilizes disk electrodes rather than the widely used protruding tip microelectrodes in order to measure from a biological environment. These electrodes have been used to evaluate the differences in nitric oxide release between two different identified neurons in the pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis. These results show the first direct measurements of nitric oxide release from individual neurons. The electrodes are very sensitive to nitric oxide with a detection limit of 2.8 nM and a sensitivity of 9.46 nA microM-1. The sensor was very selective against a variety of neurochemical interferences such as ascorbic acid, uric acid, and catecholamines and secondary oxidation products such as nitrite. Nitric oxide release was measured from the cell bodies of two neurons, the cerebral giant cell (CGC) and the B2 buccal motor neuron, in the intact but isolated CNS. A high-Ca2+/high-K+ stimulus was capable of evoking reproducible release. For a given stimulus, the B2 neuron released more nitric oxide than the CGC neuron; however, both cells were equally suppressed by the NOS inhibitor l-NAME.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Subsecond voltammetric separation between dopamine and serotonin in the presence of ascorbate.

Although voltammetry has proved an important tool for unraveling the dynamics of specific neurotransmitter molecules during the past decade, it has been very difficult to monitor more than one neurotransmitter simultaneously. In this work, we present a voltammetric methodology that allows discrimination between dopamine and serotonin, two important neurotransmitter molecules with very similar electrochemical properties, in the presence of high concentrations of ascorbate. We combined the application of a novel large-amplitude/high-frequency voltage excitation with signal processing techniques valid for the analysis of nonstationary and nonlinear phenomena. This allows us to minimize the contribution from capacitance and preserve the faradaic features of the voltammetric response providing us with excellent voltammetric detail. Using appropriate voltage excitation parameters and defining specific regions in the voltage space, so-called voltage windows, we can measure the concentrations of dopamine and serotonin separately or independently in mixed solutions even in the presence of high concentrations of ascorbate. Because of the enhanced voltammetric detail of this new technique, it is also possible to explore effects attributed to interfacial phenomena such as adsorption/desorption and electrode fouling.

Ascorbic Acid↗

PubMed2005

Simple and rapid determination of serotonin and catecholamines in biological tissue using high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection.

Using the CNS of Lymnaea stagnalis a method is described for the rapid analysis of neurotransmitters and their metabolites using high performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrochemical detection. Tissue samples were homogenised in ice-cold 0.1 M perchloric acid and centrifuged. Using a C(18) microbore column the mobile phase was maintained at a flow rate of 100 microl/min and consisted of sodium citrate buffer (pH 3.2)-acetonitrile (82.5:17.5, v/v) with 2 mM decane-sulfonic acid sodium salt. The potential was set at +750 mV versus Ag|AgCl reference electrode at a sensitivity of 50 nA full scale deflection. The detection limit for serotonin was 11.86 ng ml(-1) for a 5 microl injection. Preparation of tissue samples in mobile phase reduced the response to dopamine and serotonin compared with perchloric acid. In addition it was found that the storage of tissue samples at -20 degrees C caused losses of dopamine and serotonin. As a result of optimising the sample preparation and mobile phase the total time of analysis was substantially reduced resulting in a sample preparation and assay time of 15-20 min.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

SERRS. In situ substrate formation and improved detection using microfluidics.

Surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS) of a model derivative of TNT was detected using a microflow cell designed within the framework of the lab-on-a-chip concept, using only the analyte and readily available reagents. The SERRS substrate, silver colloid, was prepared in situ, on-chip, by borohydride reduction of silver nitrate. The silver colloid was imaged within the chip using a white light microscope in either transmission or, due to the high reflectivity of the colloid, reflection mode. A fine stream of colloid approximately 30 microm in width was formed in a 250-microm-wide channel at the point where the colloid preparation reagents met. The chip was designed to produce a concentrated stream of colloid within a laminar regime, such that particles did not readily disperse into the fluid. One result of this was to reduce the effective volume of analysis. Attempts to deliberately disrupt this stream with microstructured pillars, fabricated in the fluidic channels, were unsuccessful. The chip was also designed to have the appropriate dimensions for detection using a modern Raman microscope system, which collects scattering from a very small volume. A dye derived from TNT was used as a model analyte. Quantitative behavior was obtained over 4 orders of magnitude with a detection limit of 10 fmol. This performance is between 1 and 2 orders of magnitude better than that achieved using a macroflow SERRS cell. The technique has the added advantage that both reagent consumption and effluent production are greatly reduced, leading to reduced operating costs and a decreased environmental impact

Journal Article↗