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he Michael research group in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh focuses on monitoring chemical processes in living animals. Most of the work performed in our lab involves monitoring neurotransmitters in the central nervous system. Often these chemical processes are short lived and are at very low levels making detection very difficult; for this reason we employ electrochemical methods and devices. These methods (cyclic voltammetry, and fast scan cyclic voltammetry) and devices (carbon fiber microelectrodes) provide superior spatial and temporal resolution in the detection of numerous species in vivo making it a useful tool in the neurosciences. Neurochemical events can be observed in real-time. The small size of the electrodes makes this devices particularly suited for delicate systems, such as the brain. These small devices in conjugation with electrochemistry allows us to examine many neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, ascorbic acid and nitric oxide. Many of these species are implicated in various diseases including Parkinson's, schizophrenia, and drug abuse.

Many of the electrodes prepared in our lab incorporate small carbon fibers, sealed in tapered capillary tubes (below). The carbon fibers are around 10 microns in diameter, and have properties that are ideal for detecting the electroactive neurotransmitter dopamine (DA). We use fast scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV) to monitor changes in dopamine levels (below), because background subtracted cyclic voltammograms can be generated, and allow for positive identification of species that contribute to changes in current. Also, at fast scan rates, interference from ascorbic acid, an electroactive molecule also found in the brain, is negligible. The background subtracted cyclic voltammogram in this plot is characteristic of dopamine (below).