EP0284518A2
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EP
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Miniaturized oxygen electrode and miniaturized biosensor and production process thereof
Assignee: Fujitsu Ltd
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Filing: 1988-03-25
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2008-03-25
Abstract
Abstract Miniaturized Clark-type oxygen electrodes comprise a substrate (1) having at least one recess groove formed on a surface thereof for reserving an electrolyte solution, two electrodes (3A, 3B) acting as a cathode and an anode formed through an insulating layer (2) on the surface of the substrate, each of which electrodes is at least partly extended toward a bottom area of the recess, a solid or a semi-solid, porous, electrolyte solution-containing material (4) filling the recess, and an oxygen gas-permeable membrane (5) covering and sealing the recess and porous material reserved therein. Miniaturized biosensors may use the oxygen electrode as a transducer. The oxygen electrodes and biosensors, which are extremely accurate, can be produced on a mass-production scale and can be widely used in various fields such as clinical analysis, industrial processing, and a determination of environmental conditions. The biosensors can be particularly used in clinical diagnosis and monitoring devices for both in vivo and in vitro measurements.
Inventors
- 👤 Isao Karube
- 👤 Hiroaki Suzuki
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 00:39
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01N; G01N27/00; G01N27/26; G01N27/403; G01N27/404; C; C12; C12Q; C12Q1/00; C12Q1/001; C12Q1/005; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S435/00; Y10S435/817
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 38
Claim 1
Independent Claim
89 words
A miniaturized oxygen electrode which comprises a substrate having at least one recess groove formed on a surface thereof for reserving an electrolyte solution, two electrodes which act as a cathode and an anode and are formed through an insulating layer on the surface of the substrate, each of which electrodes is at least partly extended toward a bottom area of the recess, a solid or semi-solid, porous electrolyte solution-containing material filling the recess, and an oxygen gas-permeable membrane covering and sealing the recess and porous material reserved therein.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
89 words
A miniaturized oxygen electrode which comprises a substrate having at least one recess groove formed on a surface thereof for reserving an electrolyte solution, two electrodes which act as a cathode and an anode and are formed through an insulating layer on the surface of the substrate, each of which electrodes is at least partly extended toward a bottom area of the recess, a solid or semi-solid, porous electrolyte solution-containing material filling the recess, and an oxygen gas-permeable membrane covering and sealing the recess and porous material reserved therein.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
26 words
The oxygen electrode according to claim 1, in which the substrate is a semiconductor substrate and the recess groove is formed by photolithographic and anisotropic etching.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
16 words
The oxygen electrode according to claim 2, in which the semiconductor substrate is made from silicon.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
25 words
The oxygen electrode according to claim 3, in which the insulating layer is a silicon oxide layer and is formed by oxidizing the silicon substrate.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
19 words
The oxygen electrode according to claim 1, in which the electrodes are formed by vacuum deposition of selected metals.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
42 words
The oxygen electrode according to claim 1, in which both the cathode and the anode are the same and each is a gold or platinum electrode, and the electrolyte solution in contact with the electrodes is an aqueous solution of potassium chloride.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
41 words
The oxygen electrode according to claim 1, in which the cathode is a gold or platinum electrode and the anode is a silver/silver chloride electrode, and the electrolyte solution in contact with the electrodes is an aqueous solution of potassium chloride.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
40 words
The oxygen electrode according to claim 1, in which the cathode is a gold or platinum electrode and the anode is a lead electrode, and the electrolyte solution in contact with the electrode is an aqueous solution of potassium hydroxide.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
40 words
The oxygen electrode according to claim 1, in which the cathode is a gold or platinum electrode and the anode is a silver electrode, and the electrolyte solution in contact with the electrodes is an aqueous solution of potassium hydroxide.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
22 words
The oxygen electrode according to claim 1, in which the porous material is an agarose gel having the electrolyte solution entrapped therein.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
25 words
The oxygen electrode according to claim 1, in which the porous material is a polymeric gel of photopolymerizable monomers having the electrolyte solution entrapped therein.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
14 words
The oxygen electrode according to claim 10, in which the photopolymerizable monomers are acrylamide.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
24 words
The oxygen electrode according to claim 1, in which the porous material is a gel of metal alcoxide having the electrolyte solution entrapped therein.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
19 words
The oxygen electrode according to claim 1, in which the oxygen gas-permeable membrane is a coating of silicone resin.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
19 words
The oxygen electrode according to claim 1, in which the oxygen gas-permeable membrane is a coating of photoresist material.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
95 words
A process for the production of miniatured oxygen electrodes which comprises the steps of: forming at least one recess groove on a substrate by photolithographic and anisotropic etching, forming an insulating layer on the surface of the recess-grooved substrate, forming two electrodes on the surface of the insulating layer in such manner that the electrodes are at least partly extended toward a bottom area of the recess, filling the recess with a solid or semi- solid, porous, electrolyte solution-containing material, and covering and sealing the recess containing the porous material with an oxygen gas-permeable membrane.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
95 words
A process for the production of miniatured oxygen electrodes which comprises the steps of: forming at least one recess groove on a substrate by photolithographic and anisotropic etching, forming an insulating layer on the surface of the recess-grooved substrate, forming two electrodes on the surface of the insulating layer in such manner that the electrodes are at least partly extended toward a bottom area of the recess, filling the recess with a solid or semi- solid, porous, electrolyte solution-containing material, and covering and sealing the recess containing the porous material with an oxygen gas-permeable membrane.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
31 words
The production process according to claim 15, in which silicon is used as a substrate and a silicon oxide layer as the insulating layer is formed by oxidizing the silicon substrate.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
31 words
The production process according to claim 15, in which the electrodes are formed by vacuum deposition of electrode materials selected from the group of gold, platinum, silver, silver/silver chloride and lead.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
38 words
The production process according to claim 15, in which a heated solution of agarose containing the electrolyte solution is poured into the recess and left to stand to form an agarose gel having the electrolyte solution entrapped therein.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
48 words
The production process according to claim 15, in which a solution of photopolymerizable monomers containing the electrolyte solution is poured into the recess and radiations capable of inducing polymerization of the monomers are irradiated onto the substrate to form a polymeric gel having the electrolyte solution entrapped therein.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
27 words
The production process according to claim 19, in which the photopolymerizable monomers are acrylamide and the solution thereof is exposed to UV rays to cause polymerization thereof.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
82 words
The production process according to claim 15, in which, after formation of the electrodes, the surface of the substrate except for the recess portion is entirely coated with a hydrophobic photoresist material, the masked substrate is dipped in an aqueous solution of photopolymerizable monomers containing the electrolyte solution, and the substrate containing the aqueous solution of monomers in the recess is exposed to radiations capable of inducing polymerization of the monomers to form a polymeric gel having the electrolyte solution entrapped therein.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
35 words
The production process according to claim 21, in which the substrate is exposed to the radiations after the recess formed thereon was covered and closed with an evaporation-preventing means which allows passage of the radiations.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
29 words
The production process according to claim 21 or 22, in which the photopolymerizable monomers are acrylamide and the solution thereof is exposed to UV rays to cause polymerization thereof.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
43 words
The production process according to claim 15, in which a solution of metal alcoxide containing the electrolyte solution is poured into the recess and is subjected to a sol-gel process to form a gel of metal alcoxide having the electrolyte solution entrapped therein.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
14 words
The production process according to claim 24, in which the metal alcoxide is tetraethoxysilane.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
80 words
The production process according to claim 15, in which, after formation of the electrodes, the surface of the substrate except for the recess portion is entirely coated with a hydrophobic photoresist material, the masked substrate is dipped in an aqueous solution of metal alcoxide containing the electrolyte solution, and the substrate containing the aqueous solution of metal alcoxide in the recess is subjected to a sol-gel process to form a gel of metal alcoxide having the electrolyte solution entrapped therein.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
14 words
The production process according to claim 26, in which the metal alcoxide is tetraethoxysilane.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
25 words
The production process according to claim 15, in which the porous material-containing recess is coated with a silicon resin to form the oxygen gas-permeable membrane.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
25 words
The production process according to claim 15, in which the porous material-containing recess is coated with a photoresist material to form the oxygen gas-permeable membrane.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
119 words
A miniaturized biosensor which substantially consists of an oxygen electrode comprising a substrate having at least one recess groove formed on a surface thereof for reserving an electrolyte solution, two electrodes which act as a cathode and an anode and are formed through an insulating layer on the surface of the substrate and each of which electrodes is at least partly extended toward a bottom area of the recess, a solid or semi-solid, porous, electrolyte solution-containing material filling the recess, an oxygen gas-permeable membrane covering and sealing the recess and porous material reserved therein; and an immobilized biological substance which can catalyze the oxidation of biochemical organic compounds and is positioned on a sensitive site of the oxygen electrode.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
119 words
A miniaturized biosensor which substantially consists of an oxygen electrode comprising a substrate having at least one recess groove formed on a surface thereof for reserving an electrolyte solution, two electrodes which act as a cathode and an anode and are formed through an insulating layer on the surface of the substrate and each of which electrodes is at least partly extended toward a bottom area of the recess, a solid or semi-solid, porous, electrolyte solution-containing material filling the recess, an oxygen gas-permeable membrane covering and sealing the recess and porous material reserved therein; and an immobilized biological substance which can catalyze the oxidation of biochemical organic compounds and is positioned on a sensitive site of the oxygen electrode.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
22 words
The biosensor according to claim 30, in which the biological substance is an enzyme or a mixture of two or more enzymes.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
14 words
The biosensor according to claim 30, in which the biological substance is a microorganism.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
21 words
The biosensor according to claim 30, in which the biological substance is a mixture of two or more enzymes and microorganisms.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
11 words
The biosensor according to claim 30, which is a glucose sensor.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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