Abstract
A flexible alcohol sensor using functional polymers for transcutaneous bioinstrumentation was constructed and tested. The sensor was composed of a flexible electrode and an enzyme membrane. In the fabrication process of the electrode, Pt and Ag/AgCl electrodes were formed onto a PDMS membrane by MEMS technique. In the enzyme immobilization, a mixture solution of alcohol oxidase and photocrosslinkable polyvinyl alcohol was spread onto a PTFE membrane. The AOD was immobilized by ultraviolet irradiation. The enzyme membrane was attached to the sensing region of the electrode with biocompatible polymer. In the characteristic evaluations, the sensor was dipped into a phosphate buffer, and then a potential of +400 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl electrode) was applied to Pt-working electrode. The change of the output current by dropping of ethanol solutions was measured with PC. As a result of the evaluation, the output current rapidly increased immediately after the dropping of alcohol solutions and then was stable within 60 seconds. The output current linearly corresponded to alcohol concentrations over a range of 0.001-7.0 mmol/l, with a correlation coefficient of 0.999.
