A biosensor for urea from succinimide-modified acrylic microspheres based on reflectance transduction

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Development of sensitive and reliable biosensors is crucial for environmental and clinical monitoring.
• Acrylic microspheres offer a versatile platform for immobilizing biomolecules and chromophores.
• Succinimide functional groups provide efficient conjugation sites for enzyme and dye immobilization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize novel acrylic microspheres incorporating succinimide functional groups.
• To develop an optical biosensor for urea detection utilizing these modified microspheres.
• To evaluate the performance characteristics of the developed urea biosensor.

Main Methods:

• Photopolymerization was used to synthesize succinimide-functionalized acrylic microspheres.
• Urease enzyme and Nile blue chromoionophore (ETH 5294) were immobilized onto the microspheres.
• Reflectance spectrophotometry was employed for optical detection of urea concentration.
• Interference studies and reproducibility tests were conducted.

Main Results:

• A stable optical biosensor for urea was successfully developed with no observed leaching of immobilized components.
• The biosensor exhibited a broad linear response range for urea detection from 0.01 to 1,000 mM (R2 = 0.97).
• A low limit of detection (9.97 μM) and excellent reproducibility (RSD = 1.43%) were achieved.
• The biosensor showed no significant interference from common cations (Na+, K+, NH4+, Mg2+).

Conclusions:

• The developed succinimide-modified acrylic microsphere-based optical biosensor demonstrates superior performance for urea detection.
• Reflectance transduction offers a significant advantage, enabling a wider linear response range compared to other optical methods.
• This novel biosensor shows great potential for accurate and reliable urea monitoring in various applications.