Development of a Urea Bioprobe Based on Platinized Boron- Doped Diamond Electrodes

Authors

Eduardo Nicolau, University of Puerto Rico
Jose J. Fonseca, University of Puerto Rico
Carlos R. Cabrera, University of Puerto RicoFollow

Date of this Version

2012

Citation

Electroanalysis 2012, 24, No. 11, 2102 – 2108; DOI: 10.1002/elan.201200459

Abstract

Urea (CH₆ON₂) is one of the main human nitrogen-based metabolic wastes. The concentration of urea in blood lies between 2.5–7 mM for healthy individuals, and is commonly used as an indicator for several diseases that may alter this value. Spectrophotometric methods are employed for the determination of blood urea concentration during clinical assays. Although these methods are sensitive, they make use of toxic reagents and complex reaction schemes. Therefore, in this research we present the bioelectrochemical determination of urea by the use of the protein urease (E.C.3.1.1.5) along with a nano-platinized boron-doped diamond electrode. This approach has been proven to be efficient and sensitive providing a platform with detection limits of 1.79 mM (S/N=3). The linear range resulted from 1 mM to 25 mM for the determination of urea, and response time of five minutes.