Use of a copper-phthalocyanine membrane electrode for rapid preliminary detection of polycyclic mutagens

Abstract Preliminary screening of polycyclic mutagens is achieved within 20 min by using a biomimetic electrode composed of an oxygen electrode and a copper-phthalocyanine membrane. When benzo[α]pyrene (0.05 mM) was added to the buffer solution in the presence of 0.98 M hydrogen peroxide, the current of the phthalocyanine electrode decreased. A linear relationship was obtained between the current decrease and the benzo[α]pyrene concentration over the range 0.19–0.60 mM. The minimum measurable concentration for benzo[α]pyrene was 0.01 mM. Such responses were not obtained for other organic compounds such as alcohol, ether, n -hexane and cyclohexane. The copper-phthalocyanine membrane electrode has selectively detected polycyclic mutagens such as amino acid pyrolysis products. The current decrease was 1.18–1.46 μA when 0.05 mM amino acid pyrolysis products were employed.