A Needle-Shaped Electrochemical Sensor in Platinum for Robust Monitoring of Anaesthetics

A needle-shaped electrochemical sensor based on platinum electrodes is proposed in this paper. These platinum electrodes provide improved mechanical properties with respect to previous prototypes proposed in literature. This makes them suitable for insertion through the skin for a direct measure of anaesthetics directly in the patients' veins or arteries. These platinum electrodes allow the development of robust needle-shaped electrochemical sensor, which does not break down after several insertions and removals from skin and muscles, meanwhile providing the right material for the detection of the main component in anaesthesiology: the propofol. Finally, the proposed sensor shows a sensitivity of 5.8 nA/mu M and a limit of detection of 3.39 mu M; these values demonstrate that the detection is reliable in the considered therapeutic range of propofol.