Integral methods for automatic quantification of fast-scan-cyclic-voltammetry detected neurotransmitters

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 16; no. 7; p. e0254594
• Main Authors: Espín, Leonardo X, Asp, Anders J, Trevathan, James K, Ludwig, Kip A, Lujan, J. Luis
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: San Francisco Public Library of Science 26-07-2021; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Analysis; Automation; Biology and Life Sciences; Data collection; Dopamine; Evaluation; In vivo methods and tests; Integration; Intervals; Medicine and Health Sciences; Methods; Neurotransmitters; Oxidation; Physical Sciences; Research and Analysis Methods; Surgery; Time integration; Voltammetry; United States; United States > US; Minnesota
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254594

Modern techniques for estimating basal levels of electroactive neurotransmitters rely on the measurement of oxidative charges. This requires time integration of oxidation currents at certain intervals. Unfortunately, the selection of integration intervals relies on ad-hoc visual identification of peaks on the oxidation currents, which introduces sources of error and precludes the development of automated procedures necessary for analysis and quantification of neurotransmitter levels in large data sets. In an effort to improve charge quantification techniques, here we present novel methods for automatic selection of integration boundaries. Our results show that these methods allow quantification of oxidation reactions both in vitro and in vivo and of multiple analytes in vitro.