Carbon Fiber Disk Microelectrodes
Sensitive, renewable/durable and economical carbon fiber electrodes for electrochemical detection of neurotransmitter release
Carbon fiber microelectrodes have been used in both the detection of oxidizable compounds (Gonon, et al., 1978; Cahill and Wightman, 1995) and extracellular single-unit recording (Armstrong-James and Millar, 1979). WPI's ultra-sensitive and low-noise carbon fiber (CF) electrodes can be applied, with our Micro-C Potentiostat or similar instruments, in the electrochemical detection of catecholamines (epinephrine, norepinephrine and dopamine), indolamines (serotonin, 5-HT or melatonin), ascorbic acid, Fe (II), and other oxidizable compounds.
Fig. 1 Excellent linearity in the response of carbon fiber electrode (CF30-500) to dopamine recorded on Micro-C. Courtesy: Drs. D. Yeomans and X.-T. Wang, University of Illinois at Chicago.
CF electrodes (diameter of 10 or 30 µm) respond with an excellent linearity to the oxidizable compounds (Fig. 1) and can detect the compounds as low as 0.2 nM. While the shorter length (25-100 µm) of CF electrodes are suitable for in vivo amperometric and voltammetric measurements, the longer CF electrodes provide higher sensitivity and are especially useful for the in vitro studies (amperometric or differential pulse voltammetry). When used with the Micro-C Potentiostat, these CF electrodes can be activated and renewed in sensitivity for multiple use. The selective detection of catecholamines can be achieved with our Nafion-coated CF electrodes. For selective detection of 5-HT and ascorbic acid, please contact WPI for more information.
Fig. 2 Extracellular recording using a carbon electrode in CA1 region of the hippocampus in an anesthetized rat shows ultra-low noise ( <5 µV ). Courtesy: Dr. Carolyn Harley of Memorial University, Newfoundland, Canada.
References
Cahill, P.S., and Whightman, R.M., Anal. Chem., 67, 2599-2605 (1995).
Gonon, F., et al., Hebd Seances Acad. Sci. Ser. 286, 1203 (1978).
Armstrong-James, M., and Millar, J., J. Neurosci. Methods, 1, 279 (1979).
Micro C can be used successfully with your own microelectrode or one of WPI's or carbon fiber (8 or 30 microns) microelectrodes. SEE MICRO C Advanced Neurotransmitter Detection
CARBON FIBER MICROELECTRODES, UNCOATED
Diameter Length
CF10-100 10 µ 100 µ
CF10-250 10 µ 250 µ
CF30-50 30 µ 50 µ
CF30-100 30 µ 100 µ
CF30-1000 30 µ 1000 µ
CARBON FIBER MICROELECTRODES, NAFION- COATED*
Diameter Length
CFN10-50 10 µ 50 µ
CFN10-100 10 µ 100 µ
CFN10-250 10 µ 250 µ
CFN10-500 10 µ 500 µ
CFN30-50 30 µ 50 µ
CFN30-100 30 µ 100 µ
CFN30-250 30 µ 250 µ
CFN30-500 30 µ 500 µ
CFN30-1000 30 µ 1000 µ
The Application notes are available to download in PDF format
DOWNLOAD THE APPLICATION NOTES.PDF