An Efficient Enzyme-Less Uric Acid Sensor Development Based on PbO-Doped NiO Nanocomposites

Area of Science:

• Electrochemistry
• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Uric acid (UA) detection is crucial for diagnosing various health conditions.
• Development of sensitive and selective enzyme-free electrochemical sensors is an ongoing research area.
• Metal-oxide nanocomposites offer promising properties for electrochemical sensing applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and characterize lead oxide-doped nickel oxide nanocomposites (PbO-NiO NCs).
• To fabricate a modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) for electrochemical uric acid detection.
• To evaluate the performance of the proposed sensor in terms of sensitivity, detection range, and stability.

Main Methods:

• Wet-chemical synthesis of PbO-NiO NCs.
• Characterization using XRD, FESEM, XPS, and EDS.
• Electrochemical detection of UA using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) on modified GCE in phosphate buffer solution (PBS).

Main Results:

• PbO-NiO NCs were successfully synthesized and characterized.
• The modified GCE exhibited high sensitivity for UA detection (0.2315 µAµM^-1cm^-2 for CV, 0.2233 µAµM^-1cm^-2 for DPV).
• A wide detection range (0.15–1.35 mM) and low limit of detection (LOD) were achieved.
• The sensor demonstrated good reproducibility, fast response, and long-term stability.
• Successful analysis of bio-samples with acceptable accuracy was performed.

Conclusions:

• The PbO-NiO NCs modified GCE is a reliable and sensitive platform for enzyme-free UA detection.
• The developed sensor shows potential for portable, in situ diagnostic applications.
• Metal-oxide based materials are suitable for next-generation biosensor development.