ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Novel electrochemical urea biosensor employing gold nanosphere-decorated Prussian blue nanocubes

Amrish Prabakaran, Bahrudeen Shahul Hameed, K. S. Shalini Devi, and Uma Maheswari Krishnan

Centre for Nanotechnology and Advanced Biomaterials, SASTRA Deemed University, Thanjavur, India

E-mail: umakrishnan@sastra.edu

Received: 8 November 2022  Accepted: 7 March 2023

Abstract:

In this work, a promising, efficient, and sensitive electrochemical biosensor was developed with urease enzyme and a nanointerface consisting of gold nanoparticle decorated Prussian blue nanocubes and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (GCE/MWCNT/Au@PB/Urease) was developed for the direct detection of urea. Gold modified Prussian blue nanocubes were synthesized and characterized for their structural and chemical properties by various microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. Immobilization of urease on the nanointerface resulted in improved response during cyclic voltammetry, amperometry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements for urea detection due to the additional advantages of the redox characteristics of PB and the electrocatalytic activity of Au. The sensor showed a linear sensing range between 1 and 10 mM urea concentration with a response time of 20 s at 0.2 V vs. Ag/AgCl, and has a detection limit and sensitivity values of 0.32 mM  and 0.108 µA/mM, respectively. The selectivity of the biosensor was demonstrated with the interference studies. The sensor performance was validated using rat blood serum to quantify the urea, and the results obtained were in good agreement with conventional biochemical analysis. The novel biosensor shows immense promise and can be explored further for real-time monitoring of urea in different biological samples.

Keywords: Urease enzyme; Biosensor; Prussian blue; Gold nanoparticles; Hybrid nanocubes; Urea sensing

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-023-02775-7

Chemical Papers 77 (8) 4265–4276 (2023)