The Influence of the Diffusion Space Geometry on Behavior of some Processes in Biochemistry and Electrochemistry

Abstract

The reaction-diffusion and diffusion equations were applied for modelling of some processes in biochemistry and electrochemistry. Modelling of the amperometric biosensors based on carbon paste electrodes encrusted with a single nonhomogeneous microreactor is analyzed. The mathematical model of the biosensor operation is based on nonstationary reaction-diffusion equations containing a non-linear term given by Michaelis-Menten function. Modelling of a simple redox-electrode reaction, involving two soluble species, is also considered. The model of the electrode behavior, taking into account the resist layer of the partially blocked electrodes, was expressed as a system of differential equations of the diffusion type with initial and boundary conditions. The mathematical model generalizing both processes: biochemical and electrochemical is presented in this paper. The generalized problem was solved numerically. The finite-difference technique was used for discretisation of the model. Using the numerical solution of the generalized problem, the influence of the size, shape and position of a microreactor as well as the thickness of the resist layer on the current dynamics was investigated.