IPB Developed Uric Acid Biosensor Technology
Uric acid is a chemical produced when your body breaks down foods that contain organic compounds called purines. Most uric acid is dissolved in the blood, filtered through the kidneys, and expelled in the urine. Uric acid secretion levels in man can vary based on sex. Normal values for women are 2.5 to 7.5 milligrams/deciliter (mg/dL) and for men 4.0 to 8.5 mg/dL. However, the values may vary based on the lab doing the testing. The velocity of healthy adult uric acid excretion is 0.6 g / 24 h. The normal uric acid level in serum is between 0.13 and 0.46 mM. If normal uric acid levels in the body are known, the presence of an abnormality or disease associated with purine metabolic abnormalities can be determined. Hyperuricemia is an excess of uric acid in the blood. It is a pathological condition characterized by a high content of uric acid in the body. This disease is one of the reasons that increases the risk of human gout (a kind of arthritis, in which the kidneys and joints are affected). A number of epidemiological reports have increasingly linked hyperuricemia with cardiovascular and neurological diseases..
A group of researchers of Bogor Agricultural University, namely Dyah Iswantini, of the Department of Chemistry, FMIPA IPB; Novik Nurhidayat, of the Division of Microbiology, LIPI, Bogor; and Akhiruddin Honey and Deden Saprudin of the Physics Department of FMIPA IPB, carried out the research program on the development of uric acid biosensor technology using Lactobacillus plantarum.
Dyah Iswantini said, uric acid biosensor is an early detection of patients suffering from diseases caused by high levels of uric acid in the blood such as gout, hypertension and others. It is necessary to obtain accurate, practical and inexpensive uric acid detection method.
"We have successfully developed uric acid detection techniques using Lactobacillus plantarum as a producer of uricase as a biological component utilzed to detect uric acid levels," she said.
The results showed that measurements of L. plantarum cell acid immobilized on the zeolite / membranes for alginate and kappa-carrageenan on the surface of Screen Printed Electrode (SPE) produced an oxidation current of 29.9 μA. This result is almost three times greater than the current generated at current measurements using ordinary carbon paste electrodes.
"The research revealed that SPE used as electrode is better for the manufacturing of prototypes of uric acid biosensors," she said.
Measurements of stability of uric acid biosensors using L. plantarum biofilms which were accumulated on the surface of the SPE resulted in residual activity of 93.29% at day 35. "The results show that mass production of the uric acid biosensors will utilize L. plantarum biofilm as its bioreceptor," she said. (Wied)
