Voltammetric assay of butyrylcholinesterase in plasma samples and its comparison to the standard spectrophotometric test

Abstract

Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is an enzyme abundantly constituted in the livers and released into blood where it is soluble. It may be found in the both plasma and serum. BChE can serve as a biochemical marker. BChE activity is typically measured by spectrophotometric Ellman's method. In the present work, voltammetric assay of cholinesterasemia is proposed as a simple and reliable method. In the experiments described here, limits of detections 4.57 pkat for the spectrofotometric test and 1.14 pkat for the voltammetric assay were determined. Interference caused by acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and organic solvents was characterized and counter measurement to the AChE caused interference was proposed. Finally, the both methods were correlated one to each other using mouse plasma spiked with carbofuran resulting in a promising coefficient of determination. In a conclusion, the voltammetric assay seems to be reliable and suitable for routine performance.

Keywords: Acetylcholinesterase; Butyrylcholinesterase; Electrochemistry; Ellman's assay; Liver function test; Sensor; Voltammetry.