Method of measuring gas concentrations and microfabricated sensing device for practicing same
First Claim
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1. A microfabricated sensing device for measuring a concentration of a dissolved gas in a liquid sample, comprising:
- (a) a working electrode (WE) and a counter/reference electrode (CRE) established on the same or separate planar substrates, said WE and CRE being separated by a distance effective to minimize WE contamination by components of said CRE;
(b) an electrolyte layer (EL) established on said substrate and enclosing said WE; and
(c) a gas permeable membrane (GPM) established on but not enclosing said EL and positioned over said WE, each of said GPM and EL having respective dimensions and configurations relative to said WE such that a flux of gas to said WE, from a liquid sample in contact with the device, is a function of an amount of gas passing through said GPM.
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Abstract
A microfabricated sensing device is disclosed, including methods for using the same for the measurement of the concentration of a gas in a sample. Unique sensor configurations are described which substantially eliminate electrode cross-contamination during operation of the microfabricated sensing devices.
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Citations
38 Claims
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1. A microfabricated sensing device for measuring a concentration of a dissolved gas in a liquid sample, comprising:
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(a) a working electrode (WE) and a counter/reference electrode (CRE) established on the same or separate planar substrates, said WE and CRE being separated by a distance effective to minimize WE contamination by components of said CRE; (b) an electrolyte layer (EL) established on said substrate and enclosing said WE; and (c) a gas permeable membrane (GPM) established on but not enclosing said EL and positioned over said WE, each of said GPM and EL having respective dimensions and configurations relative to said WE such that a flux of gas to said WE, from a liquid sample in contact with the device, is a function of an amount of gas passing through said GPM. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A microfabricated sensing device for measuring a concentration of a dissolved gas in a liquid sample, comprising:
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(a) a planar substrate; (b) a working electrode (WE) and a counter/reference electrode (CRE) established on said substrate and separated by a distance effective to minimize WE contamination by components of said CRE; (c) an electrolyte layer (EL) established on said substrate and enclosing said WE; and (d) a gas permeable membrane (GPM) established on but not enclosing said EL and positioned over said WE, each of said GPM and EL having respective dimensions and configurations relative to said WE such that a flux of gas to said WE, from a liquid sample in contact with the device, is a function of an amount of gas passing through said GPM. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6)
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7. A method of measuring a concentration of a dissolved gas in a liquid sample, comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a microfabricated sensing device comprising (i) a working electrode (WE) and a counter/reference electrode (CRE) established on the same or separate planar substrates, said WE and CRE being separated by a distance effective to minimize WE contamination by components of said CRE, (ii) an electrolyte layer (EL) established on said substrate and enclosing said WE, and (iii) a gas permeable membrane (GPM) established on but not enclosing said EL and positioned over said WE, each of said GPM and EL having respective dimensions and configurations relative to said WE such that a flux of gas to said WE, from a liquid sample in contact with the device, is a function of an amount of gas passing through said GPM; (b) contacting a liquid sample containing a gas to said device such that said liquid sample provides a low impedance path between said WE and CRE; (c) applying a potential to said WE with respect to said CRE effective to allow molecules of the gas to undergo a redox reaction at said WE; (d) measuring a current output of said device; and (e) determining a concentration of the gas based on said measured current. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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9. A method of measuring a concentration of a dissolved gas in a liquid sample, comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a microfabricated sensing device comprising (i) a working electrode (WE) and a reference electrode RE established on the same or separate planar substrates, said WE and RE being separated by a distance effective to minimize WE contamination by components of said RE, (ii) an electrolyte layer (EL) established on said substrate and enclosing said WE, and (iii) a gas permeable membrane (GPM) established on but not enclosing said EL and positioned over said WE, each of said GPM and EL having respective dimensions and configurations relative to said WE such that a flux of gas to said WE, from a liquid sample in contact with the device, is a function of an amount of gas passing through said GPM; (b) contacting a liquid sample containing a gas to said device such that said liquid sample provides a low impedance path between said WE and RE; (c) measuring a potential between said WE and RE; and (d) relating said potential to a concentration of the gas in the liquid sample. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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11. A microfabricated sensing device for measuring a concentration of a gas in a sample, comprising:
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(a) a working electrode (WE) and a counter/reference electrode (CRE) established on the same substrate, said WE and CRE being separated by a distance effective to minimize WE contamination by components of said CRE; (b) an electrolyte layer (EL) established on said substrate and enclosing said WE; (c) a conducting layer (CL) established on said substrate to provide electrical contact between said WE and said CRE; and (d) a gas permeable membrane (GPM) established on but not enclosing said EL and positioned over said WE, each of said GPM and EL having respective dimensions and configurations relative to said WE such that the flux of gas to said WE, from a sample in contact with the device, is a function of an amount of the gas passing through said GPM. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method of measuring a concentration of a gas in a sample, comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a microfabricated sensing device comprising (i) a working electrode (WE) and a counter/reference electrode (CRE) established on the same substrate, said WE and CRE being separated by a distance effective to minimize WE contamination by components of said CRE, (ii) an electrolyte layer (EL) established on said substrate and enclosing said WE, (iii) a conducting layer (CL) established on said substrate to provide electrical contact between said WE and said CRE, and (iv) a gas permeable membrane (GPM) established on but not enclosing said EL and positioned over said WE, each of said GPM and EL having respective dimensions and configurations relative to said WE such that a flux of gas to said WE, from a sample in contact with the device, is a function of an amount of gas passing through said GPM; (b) contacting a sample containing a gas to said device; (c) applying a potential to said WE with respect to said RE effective to allow molecules of the gas to undergo a redox reaction at said WE; (d) measuring a current output of said device; and (e) determining a concentration of the gas based on said current output. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
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29. A method of measuring a concentration of a gas in a sample, comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a microfabricated sensing device comprising (i) a working electrode (WE) and a reference electrode (RE) established on the same substrate, said WE and RE being separated by a distance effective to minimize WE contamination by components of said RE, (ii) an electrolyte layer (EL) established on said substrate and enclosing said WE, (iii) a conducting layer (CL) established on said substrate to provide electrical contact between said WE and said RE, and (iv) a gas permeable membrane (GPM) established on but not enclosing said EL and positioned over said WE, each of said GPM and EL having respective dimensions and configurations relative to said WE such that a flux of gas to said WE, from a sample in contact with the device, is a function of an amount of gas passing through said GPM; (b) contacting a sample containing a gas to said device; (c) measuring a potential between said WE and RE; and (d) determining a concentration of the gas based on said measured potential. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31)
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32. A microfabricated sensing device for measuring a concentration of an analyte in a liquid sample, comprising:
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(a) a working electrode (WE) and a counter/reference electrode (CRE) established on the same planar substrate, said WE and CRE being substantially different in at least one dimension; (b) at least a first layer established over said WE, said WE and CRE being separated by a distance effective to minimize adverse effects of said substantially different at least one dimension on topological features of said first layer. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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Specification