A simple smartphone-assisted paper-based colorimetric biosensor for the detection of urea adulteration in milk based on an environment-friendly pH-sensitive nanocomposite.

Anal Chim Acta

Nanobiosensors Lab, Department of Life Science Engineering, Faculty of New Sciences & Technologies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran; Medical Biomaterials Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address:

Published: December 2023

Urea is a common milk adulterant that falsely increases its protein content. Excessive consumption of urea is harmful to the kidney, liver, and gastrointestinal system. The conventional methods for urea detection in milk are time-consuming, costly, and require highly skilled operators. So, there is an increasing demand for the development of rapid, convenient, and cost-efficient methods for the detection of urea adulteration in milk. Herein, we report a novel colorimetric paper-based urea biosensor, consisting of a novel environment-friendly nanocomposite of halloysite nanotubes (HNT), that urease enzyme and an anthocyanin-rich extract, as a natural pH indicator are simultaneously immobilized into its internal and external surfaces. The biosensing mechanism of this biosensor is based on anthocyanin color change, which occurs due to urease-mediated hydrolysis of urea and pH increment of the environment. The colorimetric signal of this biosensor is measured through smartphone-assisted analysis of the mean RGB (Red-Green-Blue) intensity of samples and is capable of detecting urea with a detection limit of 0.2 mM, and a linear range from 0.5 to 100 mM. This biosensor has demonstrated promising results for the detection of urea in milk samples, in the presence of other milk adulterants and interferents.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2023.341935DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

detection urea
12
urea
9
urea adulteration
8
adulteration milk
8
urea detection
8
milk
6
biosensor
5
detection
5
simple smartphone-assisted
4
smartphone-assisted paper-based
4

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!