Biological Assay Methods of Analysis

A sensitive biological assay method for the assay of acetylcholine was used by Vapaatalo et al. [58]. Superfused hamster stomach strip was used in the bioassay of acetylcholine. The preparation proved very stable and had no spontaneous movement, and the sensitivity to acetylcholine was in the range of 10-12 g/mL. Satyanarayana et al. reported the use of a bioassay method for the analysis of acetylcholine using the arterial blood pressure of cats [59]. 

Karube and Yokoyama presented an overview on the developments in the biosensor technology [60]. The overview describes the use of micromachining fabrication techniques for the construction of detection units for FIA, electrochemical flow cells and chemiluminescence detectors. Acetylcholine microsensors using carbon fiber electrodes and glutamate microsensors for neuroscience were discussed. 

Aizawa presented an overview on the principles and applications of the electrochemical and optical biosensors [61]. The current development in the biocatalytic and bioaffinity bensensor and the applications of these sensors were given. The optical enzyme sensor for acetylcholine was based on use of an optical pH fiber with thin polyaniline film. 

Mascini and Guilbault presented a review covering the methods used for immobilization of the enzymes, enzyme electrodes, and sensors for choline and acetylcholine [62]. A number of reports have appeared in the literature [21, 22, 63-124] describing biosensors used for the detection and the analysis of acetylcholine. The important characteristics of some of these reports are summarized in Table 1. 

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