Equipment-free quantitative determination of urea based on paper-based sensor via urease-mediated chitosan viscosity change

Abstract

In this study, a paper-based sensor combined with visual distance-readout technique for point of-care testing (POCT) of urea was developed by urease-mediated chitosan viscosity change. A series of factors that affect the performance of the sensor were investigated, including the type of filter paper, chitosan concentration, acetic acid concentration and enzymatic reaction conditions. Under optimal conditions, the proposed method for urea determination has good linearity between 3.8-15.1 mM. The limit of quantitation is 3.8 mM. Finally, the paper-based sensor was successfully applied to the determination of urea in two diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) samples. The recoveries of urea were 91.4 % and 109.9 % in DEF-1 and DEF-2, respectively. The present study provides a novel approach, which integrates paper-based sensor and visual distance-readout technique, for monitoring urea in POCT application, especially in remote or resource-limited regions.

Keywords: Chitosan viscosity; Paper-based sensor; Urea; Urease; Visual distance-readout technique.