Electrochemical Behaviors of ABTS2- on the Thiol-modified Gold Electrodes

The electrochemical properties of the redox mediator, 2,2'-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) ($ABTS^{2-}$) were studied using cyclic voltammetry. The measured potentials (${E^o} vs SCE) of the two redox couples of ABTS are 0.45 V for $ABTS^{2-}/ABTS^{\cdot-}$ and 0.87 V for $ABTS^{\cdot-}/ABTS^0$. The rate constant for heterogeneous electron transfer and the diffusion coefficients for $ABTS^{2-}$ are $5x10^{-3}cm\;s^{-1}$ and $3.1x10^{-6}cm^2\;s^{-1}$, respectively. Our interest in $ABTS^{2-}$ stems from the fact that this molecule functions as a substrate to the copper oxidase, laccase, by providing the reducing equivalents necessary for the biocatalyzed reduction of dioxygen to water. Consequently, when laccase is tethered to an electrode surface or dissolved in solution, $ABTS^{2-}$ can be used to quantify enzyme activity electrochemically.