A chemical Biosensor is sensor that produces an electrical signal proportional to the concentration of biochemical analytes (A substance or chemical constituent

that is undergoing analysis) These biosensors use chemical as well as physical sensors principles in their operation

The important critical care chemical analytes in our human body are the blood levels of pH,PO2,PCO2,hematocrit,total haemoglobin,o2 saturation etc The fast and the accurate diagnosis of these blood levels are vital in diagnosis and treatment of many pathological conditions These measurements are usually made with specimens of arterial blood

Oxygen is carried in the blood in two states,98% of oxygen is combined with hemoglobin in the red blood cells, and the remaining is in the plasma The saturation of oxygen bound to Hb arterial blood is defined as So2%=(hbo2)/(total Hb)* 100 The total content of o2 in the blood is directly related to the so2 for any given Hb concentration Arterial Po2 determines the efficiency of alveolar ventilation, while so2 indicates mount of o2 per unit of blood

For young adult the normal range of po2 is from 90 to 100mm of Hg Decrease in po2 level can cause decrease in overall ventilation, obstruction of airways, lung disease The pco2 level in young adults varies from 35 to 40 mm Hg,it is also an indicator of ventilation

pH is a quantitative unit of measure which describes the degree of acidity or alkalinity of a substance. It is measured on a scale of 0 to 14. The term pH is derived from p the mathematical symbol of the negative logarithm, and H the chemicalsymbol of Hydrogen. The formal definition of pH is the negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion concentration i.e. pH = -log10[H]+

A galvanic or voltaic cell produces an electric current because of spontaneous reactions at the two electrodes which may be in contact with the same or different electrolytes. In the latter case, the two electrode compartments are connected by a salt bridge for electrical contact between the electrolytes. A salt bridge is a double bent glass tube containing a concentrated solution of an electrolyte with comparable ionic mobilities of the cation and the anion. The solution is, in general, made up in a gel to minimize the mixing of the solutions of the two half cells.

An electrode, i.e., a metallic conductor in contact with an electrolyte, develops an electrical potential called the electrode potential. In a galvanic or voltaic cell, the e.m.f. of the cell is the algebraic sum of the electrode potentials of the two electrodes with universally agreed sign conventions. Each of the electrodes in contact with the electrolyte solution is also called a half cell.

As a galvanic cell functions, i.e., delivers current, at the two electrodes spontaneous chemical reactions take place, which when combined gives the overall chemical reaction called the cell reaction. It is the energy of this chemical reaction that generates the e.m.f. of the cell. In such cases, the cell is called a chemical cell. In some cells there is no overall chemical reaction but the e.m.f. is generated because of the difference in the concentrations of either the electrolytes or the electrode

The pH value of a solution is measured by using pH electrode. It essentially consists of a pair of electrodes: measuring and reference electrode, both dipped in the solution of unknown pH. These two electrodes essentially form two halfcells; the total potential developed is the difference between the individual electric potential developed in each half cell. While the potential developed in the reference cell is constant, the measuring cell potential is dependent on the hydrogen ion concentration of the solution and is governed by Nernsts equation

E=Eo+RT/nf *ln( a*c) where E= e.m.f of the half cell Eo= e.m.f of the half cell under saturated condition R= Gas constant (8.314 J/ 0C) T= Absolute temperature (K) N= valance of the ion F= Faraday Constant = 96493 C a= Activity co-efficient C= molar concentration of ions.

A half cell is a structure that contains a conductive electrode and a surrounding conductive electrolyte separated by a naturally-occurring double layer A double layer (DL, also called an electrical double layer, EDL) is a structure that appears on the surface of an object when it is placed into a liquid.

HCL Ag/ Agcl

Most modern pH electrodes consist of a single combination reference and sensing electrode instead of separate electrodes. Any pH electrode requires both a sensing electrode and a reference electrode. The sensing electrode consists of a thin hydrogen permeable membrane containing a known solution and an electrode. The known solution used is hydrochloric acid and generally a ion sensitive(specific) electrode made up of glass is used. This is a electrode which will react to any extend only with a specific ion. A solution whose pH is to be measured is kept outside the electrode or membrane

The membrane of the sensing electrode allows hydrogen ions to slowly pass, creating a positive voltage across the membrane. The voltage created in this electrode This voltage is then compared to the voltage in the reference electrode. A reference electrode is usually an Ag/Agcl electrode or a calomel electrode The voltage difference between the two electrodes is then used to determine the pH of the unknown solution using the Nernst equation The potential developed is generally measured by using a PH meter

A salt bridge is placed in the reference electrode to prevent chemical constituents of specimen from affecting voltage of reference electrode The voltage produces is affected by the temperature change ,thus generally a water bath is used to maintain a constant temperature or a temperature correction has to be provided

Advantages of po2 measurement:

A MOSFET is a voltage controlled device, and requires only a small input current The switching speed is very high and the switching time are of the order nanoseconds It has three terminals: Gate, source and drain The gate to source voltage is either positive or negative ,If VGS is negative the value of RDS is high and IDS=0

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