Amperometric Microbiosensors for Studying ATP at the Carotid Body

An amperometric ATP microbiosensor was developed to determine the role of ATP in mediating maturation of chemosensitivity of peripheral arterial chemoreceptors at the carotid body (CB) to physiological stimuli. The carotid body regulates ventilation via the release of neurotransmitters detected by the brain. Clinical studies to determine the age-dependent release of ATP stimulated at the rat carotid body are presented for potassium depolarization, hypoxic (low O₂), and hypercapnic (high CO₂) conditions. Laterally resolved release of ATP was measured at the carotid body using a miniaturized dual-enzyme biosensor based on the co-immobilization of the enzymes glucose oxidase and hexokinase at various stimuli for establishing the dose-response of the carotid body from rat pups. Thereby, quantification of extracellular ATP released by the carotid body was achieved at various physiological conditions.