Electrochemical Sensing of Uric Acid: Methods and Recent Materials

Uric acid (UA) is an important biomarker in blood to diagnosis diseases linked with hyperuricemia. Although several detection methods exist for UA sensing, electrochemical method has emerged as a promising alternative. For effective performance of a biosensor, the choice of electroactive material plays a crucial role. The developed electrodes are enzymatic and non-enzymatic with modified nano-structures of metal oxides, ferrites and carbon-based materials. Several combinations of nanocomposites using metal oxides with carbon-based compounds show promising results for biosensor applications. This is attributed to its functional groups, higher surface area and porous nature that can improve the sensing performance as it requires only quick-time processing with inexpensive and direct detection methods. The electrochemical method uses anodic peak current which is the analytical signal to sense the electrochemical oxidation of UA. This technique paves a new way to make electrodes for point-of-detection devices in near future. It could be the next generation of non-invasive analysis for food hygiene as well as biomedical and clinical applications. This review focuses on materials used in electrochemical sensing of UA and discusses on the application of different electrochemical techniques in UA detection.