Chemistry: electrical and wave energy – Apparatus – Electrolytic
Patent
1997-08-22
2000-09-05
Tung, T.
Chemistry: electrical and wave energy
Apparatus
Electrolytic
G01N 2726
Patent
active
061137626
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a microbial electrode and a microbial sensor, and more specifically to the microbial electrode and the microbial sensor which enable measurement of the concentration of a sample without resorting to oxygen electrodes.
BACKGROUND ART
The majority of microbial sensors which measure the concentration of a matter, measure the concentration of a matter in various solutions by utilizing a change of the microbial respiration. When microorganisms are put in a sample solution containing various matters and they metabolize those matters, their respiration is activated intensely, which will lead to reduced oxygen concentration in the environment surrounding them. Such changes in oxygen concentration are measured by oxygen electrodes, and this is the method by which a microbial sensor can measure the concentration of a substance.
For example, BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) is an important factor to be considered when the quality of water in rivers and sewage from plants must be controlled, and has been taken internationally as an indicator of the organic pollution of a water. The water pollutants derived from organic compounds are degraded through oxidation by aerobic microorganisms and consumed in the end, and in correspondence with the reduced concentration of those organic matters, dissolved oxygen is also consumed. The measurement of how much oxygen is consumed represents the pollution of a given water. In other words, BOD represents the concentration of organic compounds in terms of the oxygen consumed. A method for measuring BOD is regulated by the Japanese Industrial Standard, JIS K 0102. However, this method requires an intricate operation and it takes five days to measure BOD by this method, and hence it comes to be replaced the JIS K 0102 method by a method which allows a quick, simple and on-line measurement of BOD (JIS K 3602.sup.-1990). As a BOD sensor for this kind of method, a BOD sensor which depends on the use of a combination of microbial film and oxygen electrodes (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 54-47699, etc.), has been provided and has been utilized for the measurement of BOD in industrial waste water or the like.
Besides BOD sensors described above, the sensor utilizing microbial activity includes a developed ethanol sensor which combines a membrane upon which are immobilized microorganisms such as Trichosporon brassicae which selectively consume ethanol and thus breathe vigorously in the presence of ethanol, and oxygen electrodes which measure the reduction in oxygen concentration in a solution which occurs as a result of activated respiration.
However, in the sensor described above which determines the concentration of matters in a solution by measuring the reduction in dissolved oxygen with oxygen electrodes, there is a problem that it is difficult to determine exactly the concentration of matters of a solution where dissolved oxygen remains at a low level. In addition, as the oxygen electrode must contain an electrolyte and the like within its structure, it is forced to have a certain size. Accordingly, the conventional microbial sensors which are often installed into a fermenter or the like to determine the concentration of various matters and BOD sensors described above are all large or medium in size and expensive.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is made in view of the above, and it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a microbial sensor which allows measurement even in a solution poor in dissolved oxygen, enables direct measurement of the concentration of matters in a solution without resorting to oxygen electrodes, thereby being capable of down sizing, and a microbial sensor which can be provided with reduced cost as production, and is disposable and free from reduced precision in measurement due to deteriorated microorganisms after long use.
The inventor(s) of the present invention, to solve the above mentioned problems, constructed a microbial electrode or a microbial s
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English language translation of Riedel (DE 4301087), Jul. 1994.
CAPLUS abstract of Tanaka et al. ("Thionine and ferric chelate compounds as coupled mediators in microbial fuel cells", bioelectrochem. bioenerg. (1983); 11 (4-6), 289-97), Month Unknown.
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Richardson et al. ("A chemically mediated amperometric biosensor for monitoring eubacterial respiration", J. Apl. Bacteriology, 1991, 70, 422-426), Month Unknown.
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CAPLUS abstract of Riedel et al. (DE 4301087 A1), Jul. 1994.
Karube Isao
Morita Takashi
Yano Kiyoko
Yoshida Nobuyuki
Akebono Brake Industry Co. Ltd.
Akebono Research and Development Centre Ltd.
Karube Isao
Noguerda Alex
Tung T.
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