Uric acid redox potential

The cofactors of both xanthine and aldehyde oxidases belong to the LMoVI(S)(0) subfamily (see Section IV). However, inactive dioxo forms, LMovi(0)2, of both xanthine and aldehyde oxidase are known. These dioxo forms do not catalyze oxidation of the respective substrates of these enzymes. The Mov/Molv redox potential for the inactive bis(oxido) form of xanthine oxidase differs from the oxido-sulfido form by -30 mV (bovine xanthine oxidase) and -lOOmV (chicken liver xanthine oxidase) [91]. Although the difference is small, given the xanthine/uric acid reduction potential (-360 mV), it is possible that the Mov/MoIV couple (-433 mV) of the chicken-liver xanthine oxidase bis(ox-ido) form impedes the effective oxidation of xanthine for redox reasons alone. However, the bis(oxido) form of bovine xanthine oxidase (with a reduction potential of -386 mV) should be able to oxidize xanthine, since the redox potential, and hence the thermodynamic driving force, is sufficient for activity [91,92,99]. As substrate oxidation does not occur, the chemical differences between the bis(oxido) and oxido-sulfido (Movl) forms must be critical to the dramatic difference in activity (see Section VI.E.l). 

Table 13.2 summarises the different approaches used to construct enzyme electrochemical biosensors for application to food analysis based on the different types of enzymes available. Generally, the main problems of many of the proposed amperometric devices have been poor selectivity due to high potential values required to monitor the enzyme reaction, and poor sensitivity. Typical interferences in food samples are reducing compounds, such as ascorbic acid, uric acid, bilirubin and acetaminophen. Electrocatalysts, redox mediators or a second enzyme coupled reaction have been used to overcome these problems (see Table 13.2), in order to achieve the required specifications in terms of selectivity and sensitivity. 

Using platinum electrodes (167, 238) requires +0.6 V versus SCE to oxidize H2O2. However, this potential precludes selective measurements of uric acid because it is also oxidized at the electrode surface (167). Thus, to improve the selectivity, bienzyme amperometric devices using a redox mediator (hexa-cyanoferrate) have been constructed (239). The enzymes uricase and peroxid ise are immobilized together and the hexacyanoferrate(III) is measured at 0.0 V versus Ag/AgCl. Alternatively, a carbon dioxide selective electrode is used for the detection of the enzymatically liberated CO2 (240, 241). 

Xanthine is converted to uric acid at the molybdenum center of the enzyme, and the electrons are removed from the enzyme by oxidation of the flavin center. From early reductive titrations of xanthine oxidase with sodium dithionite, it was proposed that reducing equivalents were equilibrated among the four redox-active centers (Mo-co, two separate Fe2S2 centers, flavin) at a rate that was rapid relative to the overall catalytic rate of substrate turnover (243). Under such conditions, the flux of reducing equivalents through the enzyme should be influenced by the relative reduction potentials of the redox centers involved (244). Any effects of pH and temperature on the reduction potentials of individual redox components would affect the apparent rates of intramolecular transfer of the enzyme. 

XOR accelerates the hydroxylation of purines, pyrimidines, pterins and aldehydes [132]. In humans, the enzyme catalyzes the last two steps of purine catabolism the oxidation of hypoxanthine to xanthine and of the latter to uric acid. An unusual property of this, but not aU XOR enzymes [133], is its interconversion between xanthine dehydrogenase and xanthine oxidase activities which implies a switch between NAD" and molecular oxygen being used as the final electron acceptor [134]. Structural studies suggest that this switch, that can be irreversibly induced by proteolysis [135], results from conformational changes that lead to both restricted access to the NAD cofactor to its binding site and changes in the redox potential of the FAD cofactor [136],... 

However, this is true only for the sample solutions which contain a single component, H2O2 in this case. The electrochemical response is more complicated if sample solutions contain two or more redox species because both species would be oxidized or reduced, and thus they contribute concurrently to the output current. This is often the case for the electrochemical determination of drugs and metabolites or other biological components in blood because many kinds of redox-active species are intrinsically contaminated in blood. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and uric acid (UA) are redox species found in blood, and these compounds often disturb electrochemical measurements of blood because the redox potential... 

A real example from the hterature is shown in Fig. 2.25 which utilises a cat-echin-immobihsed poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-modified electrode towards the electrocatalysis of NADH in the presence of ascorbic acid and uric acid [11]. Interestingly, catechin has a quinone moiety in its oxidised state and the effect of pH on the redox properties of the modified electrode is shown in Fig. 2.25 over the pH range of 2-10 where the redox couple of the catechin molecules are shifted to less positive values with the increase in pH. The insert in Fig. 2.25 shows a plot of the half-wave potential of the catechin molecule as a function of pH. Note it... 

The feasibility of on-line electrochemistry mass spectrometry in the study of electrode processes has recently been demonstrated by Heitbaum et al. . We have tested the potential of on-line mass spectrometry in the study of redox reactivity of biological compounds with uric acid as a probe. Electrochemical oxidation of uric acid has been studied extensively . The scheme in Figure 6 shows the electrochemical oxidation pathway of uric acid and indicates intermediates and products which were identified by on-line electrochemistry thermospray mass spectrometry (EC/TSP/MS/MS) . In our studies, tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) was used to obtain structurally informative fragmentation patterns (daughter spectra) of standards for comparison to the mass spectra of intermediates and products obtained by EC/TSP/MS/MS. This, for example, allowed identification of allantoin through its characteristic daughter spectrum. It also allowed confirmation of the structural features of the intermediate, bicyclic carboxylic acid, which apparently forms from the imine alcohol in the oxidation of uric acid. The intermediates and products which were identified in this way are indicated in the scheme, and mass spectral results are summarized in Table 1. 

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