Urease sensors based on differential antimony electrodes

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Analytical Chemistry
• Sensor Technology

Background:

• Accurate urea level monitoring is crucial for diagnosing kidney function and metabolic disorders.
• Existing methods for urea determination can be time-consuming or require complex instrumentation.
• Development of rapid, sensitive, and stable urea sensors is an ongoing area of research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To construct and characterize novel urea-sensitive sensors.
• To evaluate the performance of these sensors for urea determination in biological samples.
• To develop an analyzer based on the sensor for practical applications.

Main Methods:

• Immobilization of urease enzyme onto a differential antimony electrode.
• Electrochemical characterization of the sensor response to varying urea concentrations.
• Assessment of sensor linearity, operational modes (stationary and kinetic), and operational stability.
• Construction and testing of a urea analyzer utilizing the developed sensor.

Main Results:

• The constructed urea-sensitive sensors exhibited a linear calibration curve up to 1.6-2.0 mmol litre-1.
• Sensors maintained 50% of their initial sensitivity over a period of 16-17 days.
• The developed analyzer demonstrated quick and precise urea determination in pure blood samples.

Conclusions:

• Urea-sensitive sensors based on immobilized urease and differential antimony electrodes are effective for urea detection.
• The sensors show good linearity and stability, suitable for practical applications.
• The developed analyzer provides a rapid and precise method for blood urea analysis.