Abstract
A new telemetric system for the electrochemical monitoring of dissolved oxygen is showed. The device, connected with two amperometric sensors, has been successfully applied to the wireless detection of the extracellular oxygen in the central complex of freely-walking Gromphadorhina portentosa. The unit was composed of a potentiostat, a two-channel sensor conditioning circuit, a microprocessor module, and a wireless serial transceiver. The amperometric signals were digitalized and sent to a notebook using a 2.4 GHz transceiver while a serial-to-USB converter was connected to a second transceiver for completing the communication bridge. The software, running on the laptop, allowed to save and graph the oxygen signals. The electronics showed excellent stability and the acquired data was linear in a range comprised between 0 and -165 nA, covering the entire range of oxygen concentrations. A series of experiments were performed to explore the dynamics of dissolved oxygen by exposing the animals to different gases (nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide), to low temperature and anesthetic agents (chloroform and triethylamine). The resulting data are in agreement with previous O2 changes recorded in the brain of awake rats and mice. The proposed system, based on simple and inexpensive components, can constitute a new experimental model for the exploration of central complex neurochemistry and it can also work with oxidizing sensors and amperometric biosensors.
Highlights
Synaptic transmission requires a large amount of energy that is satisfied through the use of different energy substrates [1,2] but it is through the mitochondria that a higher production of ATP can be obtained [3,4]
The Vout signals were recorded for 4 consecutive hours of continuous operation and a maximum deviation of 5 mV was monitored while the electronic noise was around 15 pA
We setup the device for allowing the reduction of the oxygen on carbon surface by applying a potential of -400 mV vs voltage reference (Vref) (Vapp = 1.25V); in future researches, it will be possible to operate in oxidation mode with Vapp > Vref and using the system with oxidizing sensors or amperometric biosensors
Summary
Synaptic transmission requires a large amount of energy that is satisfied through the use of different energy substrates [1,2] but it is through the mitochondria that a higher production of ATP can be obtained [3,4]. Oxygen represents the pivotal oxidative substrate for neurochemical reactions in which energy is produced. Oxygen monitoring in the central complex of Gromphadorhina portentosa
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