IPB Students Create Uric Acid Detector through Urine

In Indonesia, it is common that most of our people do not have health checks before they really get sick. Especially for uric acid disease, diabetes, and kidney disease, so many people just realized after the illness is worsened.

Three students of the Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) designed a device to detect uric acid levels through urine called "Uridect". They are Anisah Rahajeng Kartika Sari, Murtezha Hadijaya El Hasyibi, and Syahrul. Under the supervision of Dr. Akhiruddin Maddu, three students of the Department of Physics Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA) is convinced innovation will benefit the society.

Innovation which succeeded in the Student Creativity Program (PKM) in 2018 was inspired by Anisah family who suffered from uric acid but phobia with a syringe. Based on the facts, 3 – 4% of people in the world are suffered from hemophobia (fear of blood), which usually also followed by suffered from trypanophobia (fear of needles). This makes the patient who suffered from the phobia did not dare to take his blood sample using a syringe.

"This idea originated from one of my family who was exposed to gout disease but had a phobia of the syringe. Our team then searched for a non-invasive tool for uric acid. At that time, we saw that there was a dipstick on the market not yet specifically seeing uric acid quantitatively. From which, we searched for a method that can be used to detect gout without the need to harm the body, "Anisah explained.

They also created a uric acid detector through the urine called Uridect. The tool made by Anisah and her two colleagues has many advantages that are without the use of enzymes, so it can be used many times and the output of this tool can see uric acid levels quantitatively. In addition, Uridect does not require blood in detecting levels of uric acid.

"So, with the Uridect tool we made, the patient just needs to put urine into Uridect. Then, the sensor in the tool will detect early whether the user has gout disease, diabetes, or kidney disease. These three diseases are related because it has the same enzyme disturbance for purine metabolism that caused increasing uric acid levels in the body, "she added.

In Uridect, the material used to detect uric acid is Ag-Graphene Oxide where its working principle is by utilizing evanescence light on the optical fiber. When the sensor material is exposed to uric acid, the material properties of the refractive index of the material change. The field of study which Anisah and her colleagues’ expertise are physics, it became the basic capital for the working system for the Uridect tool.

Anisah and her colleagues get funding by Kemenristekdikti (Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education) of Indonesia to be able to realize the innovations they have designed.

Anisah and her colleagues hope that Uridect can be useful to the general public. Especially for those who suffered from the phobia of seeing blood or to be injected.

"We will be happy if this tool can be utilized by the general public, especially if this tool can be developed for the wellness in the future," she concluded. (flw)