A biosensor based on the biomimetic oxidase Fe3O4@MnO2 for colorimetric determination of uric acid

High plasma urate is closely related to gout, cardiovascular and other diseases. Therefore, monitoring the content of uric acid (UA) in plasma is of great significance for the treatment of gout and the prevention of other related diseases. Herein, a biosensor based on the biomimetic oxidase Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) @MnO2 nanosheets (Fe3O4@MnO2 NS) was constructed for colorimetric determination of UA. MnO2 NS is an efficient biomimetic oxidase, and we found that the intrinsic oxidase activity of MnO2 NS doped with Fe3O4 NPs can be significantly enhanced. The chromogenic substrate TMB can be catalyzed by Fe3O4 @MnO2 NS to generate blue oxidized TMB, and UA can decompose the MnO2 NS to inhibit the color reaction of TMB selectively, thereby realizing the quantitative detection of UA. In addition, the UA biosensor can perform colorimetric analysis of UA level through three methods: naked eye, smartphone and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectrophotometer. The linear ranges of UV-vis spectrophotometry and colorimetry with smartphone were 1-70 μM and 200-650 μM, respectively, and the limits of detection (LOD) were 0.27 μM and 21 μM. The analysis results of human plasma samples showed that the method had good selectivity and practicability.