Foreign bodies in the aerodigestive tract: time for comprehensive preventive measures.

Background: Foreign body (FB) in the aerodigestive tract presents more commonly in children and remains a surgical emergency with potential for fatal complications.

Objectives: To describe management and outcomes of aerodigestive FB managed at University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) and proffer preventive measures.

Methods: A 9-year retrospective review of all patients with foreign body in the aerodigestive tract managed between March 2011 and July 2020.

Pyrrole functionalised metalloporphyrins as electrocatalysts for the oxidation of nitric oxide.

Pyrrole-functionalised tetracarboxyphenyl porphyrin and trimethoxyphenylcarboxy-phenyl porphyrin containing Ni, Mn and Pd as the central metal ion were used to modify Pt-disk microelectrodes (slashed circle 50 mum) (by repetitive cyclic voltammetry, dip-dry and pulse-amperometry methods) for the detection of nitric oxide (NO). Electrodes modified with Mn(II) trimethoxyphenylcarboxyphenyl porphyrin using the pulse amperomery approach, were found to be sensitive, stable and fast in response towards the oxidation of NO. Thus, they were used for the detection of NO release from a population of transformed human umbilical vein endothelial cells (T-HUVEC) into a droplet of electrolyte solution following stimulation with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).

Electrochemical nitric oxide sensor preparation: a comparison of two electrochemical methods of electrode surface modification.

Platinum electrodes modified with Mn(II) 5-(N-(8-pyrrole-yl-3,6-dioxa-1-aminooctane)phenylamide-10,15,20-trimethoxyphenylporphyrin (Mn(II)triOMeTCPPyP) using multi-sweep cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse amperometry were evaluated as electrocatalytic surfaces for the oxidation of nitric oxide. The electrodes modified using the pulse amperometric approach were more sensitive towards the detection of nitric oxide. The increased sensitivity led to the attainment of a wider linear dynamic range for the quantification of nitric oxide.

Cell-compatible array of three-dimensional tip electrodes for the detection of nitric oxide release.

An array of electrodes on which cells could be grown directly was fabricated using silicon anisotropic etching and a thick-photoresist process and employed for the detection of nitric oxide (NO) released from a population of adherently growing human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). The electrodes are tip-shaped and are 40 microm high of which only the top 15 microm are exposed Pt-tips. After electrochemical induced modification of the exposed Pt tips using Ni phthalocyanine the individual addressable electrode tips were sensitive and selective for the detection of NO at an applied constant potential of 750 mV.

Simultaneous detection of the release of glutamate and nitric oxide from adherently growing cells using an array of glutamate and nitric oxide selective electrodes.

The simultaneous detection of nitric oxide and glutamate using an array of individually addressable electrodes, in which the individual electrodes in the array were suitably modified with a highly sensitive nitric oxide sensing chemistry or a glutamate oxidase/redox hydrogel-based glutamate biosensor is presented. In a sequence of modification steps one of the electrodes was covered first with a positively charged Ni porphyrin entrapped into a negatively charged electrodeposition paint followed by the manual modification of the second working electrode by a bienzyme sensor architecture based on crosslinked redox hydrogels with entrapped peroxidase and glutamate oxidase. Adherently growing C6-glioma cells were grown on membrane inserts and placed in close distance to the modified sensor surfaces.

Dual microelectrodes for distance control and detection of nitric oxide from endothelial cells by means of scanning electrochemical microscope.

Dual Pt disk microelectrodes consisting of a 10-microm distance sensor and a 50-microm nitric oxide sensor were prepared. The 50-microm electrode was modified with Ni(4-N-tetramethyl)pyridyl porphyrin enclosed in the polymer network of a negatively charged electrodeposition paint. This paint prevented the dissolution of the otherwise soluble porphyrin in the aqueous test medium due to charge interactions.

Functionalised electrode array for the detection of nitric oxide released by endothelial cells using different NO-sensing chemistries.

In a preliminary study aimed at developing strategies for the simultaneous detection of various biologically important molecules, a procedure is described that allows the electrochemical detection of nitric oxide (NO) released by a population of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) by using an array of electrodes comprising three individually addressable electrodes. Each electrode in the array was modified with a different NO-sensitive electrocatalyst, thereby demonstrating the possibility of modifying the individual electrodes in an array with different sensing chemistries. This study opens a doorway to the development of arrays of electrodes for the simultaneous detection of multiple analytes in a complex environment by suitably tailoring the sensitivity and selectivity of each electrode in the array to a specific analyte in the test medium.

Evaluation of redox mediators for amperometric biosensors: Ru-complex modified carbon-paste/enzyme electrodes.

The properties of reagentless amperometric biosensors are mainly governed by the interaction of the used redox enzyme and the redox mediators used to facilitate the electron-transfer reaction. Both the used redox mediators and the redox enzymes differ concerning their hydrophilicity and their properties within the matrix of a carbon-paste electrode. Since there is no general procedure which is applicable for any enzyme in combination with any redox mediator, optimisation is necessary for each possible combination.