Continuous-flow enzymatic determination of creatinine with improved on-line removal of endogenous ammonia

A new continuous-flow automated enzymatic method suitable for the direct determination of creatinine in physiological samples is described. The proposed system utilizes an on-line gas predialysis unit in conjuction with a flow-through enzyme reactor coil and a potentiometric ammonia detector. The enzyme reactor contains immobilized creatinine iminohydrolase (EC 3.5.4.21) which converts creatinine to ammonia and N-methylhydantoin. Ammonia liberated from this reaction is detected downstream with the membrane electrode-based detector. The novel gas predialysis unit effectively removes >99.8% of endogenous ammonia (up to 1 mM) present in the sample. Thus, final peak potentials recorded by the electrode detector are directly proportional to the logarithm of creatinine concentrations present. The method is shown to be precise (<3%), selective, and capable of accurately determining creatinine in serum and urine samples containing abnormally high endogenous ammonia levels. Determinations of creatinine in serum samples (n = 30) using this new method correlate well with an existing Technicon AutoAnalyzer colorimetric method (r = 0.996).     

Fully Enzymatic Colorimetric Assay of Serum and Urine Creatinine Which Obviates the Need for Sample Blank Measurements

Abstract

A fully enzymatic method for the colorimetric determination of serum and urine creatinine is described which does not require sample blank measurements. It is based on the formation of hydrogen peroxide from creatinine in a reaction sequence catalyzed by creatinine iminohydrolase, ATP-dependent 1-methylhydantoinase, N-carbamoylsarcosine amidohydrolase and sarcosine oxidase. The hydrogen peroxide is quantitated with high sensitivity at 546 nm by a chromogenic system consisting of peroxidase, 2′-sulpho-2-methyl-benzthiazolinone hydrazone and 2,4,6-tribromo-3-hydroxy-benzoic acid. Only 20 μL of sample are needed for the assay, the total reaction being complete within 10 min at 25°. Within-run precision gave a CV of 3.1 and 1.6 % at serum creatinine concentrations of 79 and 160 μmol/L, respectively, and the standard curve is linear up to at least 1760 μmol/L. The assay yields results which agree well with those found by both an enzymatic UV-method and an alternate enzymatic colorimetric procedure necesitating sample blank measurements to correct for endogenous creatine.     

Flow-injection fluorimetric assay of nitrogen-containing substrates by on-line enzymatic generation of ammonia

A fluorimetric flow-injection method for the determination of nitrogen-containing substrates, which can be enzymatically degraded to ammonium/ammonia is described. The generated ammonia is detected fluorimetrically after on-line derivatization with o-phthaldialdehyde (OPA) and sulphite. The derivatization procedure is optimized by a fractional factorial design at two levels and by a super modified simplex procedure to obtain a high sensitivity and a low detection limit for ammonia in the micromolar concentration range. Under the given flow conditions the detection limit is 1 μM, and considerable selectivity for ammonia over primary amines such as unconverted substrate and amino acids is achieved. Two enzymatic systems, incorporating immobilized creatinine iminohydrolase (CIH) and L-aspartase column reactors, respectively, are tested as model systems. The feasibility of the CIH system for the practical assay of creatinine in serum samples is demonstrated.     

Ammonia abatement in an enzymatic flow system for the determination of creatinine in blood sera and urine

The abatement of ammonia in standard solutions, and in human blood and urine samples is achieved by adding suitable amounts of NADPH and α-ketoglutarate to the sample and passing it through a 2-m nylon tube with glutamate dehydrogenase immobilized on the inner wall. The procedure provides removal of 98% of the ammonia (1–5 × 10^?4 M) in the original sample in 50 s. The abatement of ammonia permits the use of an ammonia probe coupled with an immobilized degradative enzyme for the determination of creatinine. Creatinine was determined in clinical blood and urine samples by first removing the ammonia from the sample and then cleaving the creatinine to N-methylhydantoin and ammonia with immobilized creatininase. Only 200 μl of sample is needed and the entire process is conducted in a single flow stream.     

Determination of creatinine with a sensor based on immobilized glutamate dehydrogenase and creatinine deiminase

Glutamate dehydrogenase and creatinine deiminase are immobilized by adsorption on wet poly(vinyl chloride) membranes. Creatinine is determined by a sensor consisting of the two membranes placed over an ammonia-sensing electrode. Endogenous ammonia is removed as it passes through the glutamate dehydrogenase layer. Creatinine (1–50 mg dl^?1) is converted to ammonia in the inner creatinine deiminase layer and is detected by the ammonia electrode. The assay requires 3 min, the minimum detectable concentration is 1 mg dl^?1 at pH 8.5, and the precision is ca. 5%. Endogenous ammonia can be tolerated up to 2 × 10^?4 M.     

Determination of creatinine in clinical samples with a creatininase reactor and an ammonia probe

A commercial nylon coil with immobilized creatininase in conjunction with a potentiometric ammonia probe is used in a continuous flow apparatus for the determination of creatinine in blood plasma and urine. The analytical characteristics of the coil are evaluated and its specific enzymatic activity is calculated. The determination of creatinine in plasma is viable provided that samples are processed quickly after they have been taken and that plasma ammonia is evaluated just before the creatinine determination. Analyses of urine require prior separation of ammonia. For plasma, 40 samples/hour can be processed with confidence. The precision of the procedure depends strongly on the plasma ammonia level and is about 5% for normal conditions.     

Array of potentiometric sensors for the analysis of creatinine in urine samples

The development of potentiometric biosensors for creatinine based on creatinine iminohydrolase (E.C. 3.5.4.21) immobilized on chitosan membranes coupled to a nonactin based ammonium ion selective electrode is described. The response characteristics of three types of biosensors with the enzyme immobilized by three different procedures were evaluated. The biosensors with better response characteristics were obtained by coupling the ammonium ion selective electrodes to chitosan membranes with the enzyme immobilized by adsorption. The linear response range of these biosensors to creatinine was 10(-4) to 10(-2) M, the response time was between 30 and 60 s, they showed an operational lifetime of 44 days and the slope of the response to creatinine in the first day varied between 50 and 52 mV decade-1. An array of six potentiometric sensors, constituted by two creatinine biosensors and four ion selective electrodes for potassium, sodium, ammonium and calcium was calibrated and a multivariate model based on PLS1 for the response to creatinine was obtained and validated. The array was used for the analysis of creatinine in urine samples and the results were compared with the results of a clinical analysis laboratory, based on the Jaffé reaction.     

A Creatinine Specific Enzyme Electrode

Abstract

An extremely specific creatinine electrode was successfully developed for selective analysis of aqueous creatinine with a linear response over the range from 5 mg/l to 100 mg/l. The endogenous and exogenous species generally present in the serum do not interfere in the assay with the exception of ammonia. With the use of the electrode serum samples containing high creatinine can be assayed directly after pre-treatment. However, the electrode is not sensitive enough to detect the normal level serum creatinine due to the dilution of the serum after treatment.     

Determination of Urea in Undiluted Blood Samples by Flow Injection Analysis Using Optosensin

Abstract

A miniaturized Flow Injection system for the assay of urea in undiluted whole blood is described. Based on the optical determination of ammonia, the system incorporates a flow cell combining gas diffusion and optosensing, the separating barrier between the donor and accepting streams consisting of a sandwich of a hydrophobic gas permeable membrane and a hydrophilic membrane between which is contained a gel of covalently immobilized urease. The sample urea content is quantified by the colour change of an acid-base indicator contained within the acceptor stream. Within the physiological range the measurement is not affected by variations in the pH value, the buffering capacity or the hematocrit level of the sample solution, nor is it, due to the geometric construction of the flow cell, prone to interferences owing to the colour of the sample solution itself. The system is stable for a t least one week of continuous use.     

Ammonia measurements in mammalian cell culture media with a diffuse reflectance-based fiberoptic ammonia sensor

A solid-state, diffuse reflectance-based fiberoptic sensor is described for quantifying ammonia. This sensor is constructed by immobilizing chlorophenol red, a weak acid chromophoric indicator dye, in a microporous polypropylene membrane. A flow-injection analysis system is used to carry a 10-μL aliquot of the sample across the treated membrane. Ammonia in the sample diffuses through the air-filled pores within the membrane structure before reacting with the indicator dye. A reversible acid-base reaction between ammonia and chlorophenol red results in a measurable change in the reflectance at 560 nm. Response characteristics include a peak response within 20 s, a limit of detection of 0.2 ± 0.1 mM ammonia, and a dynamic range of up to 60 mM ammonia. The analytical utility of this sensor is demonstrated by measuring ammonia levels in 48 individual samples collected during the growth of PC3 human prostate cancer cells in a typical serum-containing growth medium. Accuracy of the proposed sensor is verified by a comparison of results from this sensor to those from a conventional enzyme assay.     

Quantitative Determination of Glycine in Aqueous Solution Using Glutamate Dehydrogenase-Immobilized Glyoxal Agarose Beads

In this study, an enzymatic procedure for the determination of glycine (Gly) was developed by using a column containing immobilized glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) on glyoxal agarose beads. Ammonia is produced from the enzymatic reactions between Gly and GDH with NAD⁺ in phosphate buffer medium. The indophenol blue method was used for ammonia detection based on the spectrophotometric measurements of blue-colored product absorbing at 640 nm. The calibration graph is linear in the range of 0.1–10 mM of Gly concentrations. The effect of pH, temperature, and time interval was studied to find column stability, and also the interference effects of other amino acids was investigated. The interaction between GDH and glyoxal agarose beads was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The morphology of the immobilized and non-immobilized agarose beads were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM).     

Alternative method for measurement of albumin/creatinine ratio using spectrophotometric sequential injection analysis

A simple, automatic and practical system for successive determination of albumin and creatinine has been developed by combining sequential injection analysis (SIA) and highly sensitive dye-binding assays. Albumin detection was based on the increase in the absorbance due to complex formation between albumin and eosin Y in acidic media. The absorbance of the complex was monitored at 547 nm. For the creatinine assay, the concentration of creatinine was measured by reaction with alkaline picrate to form a colored product which absorbs at 500 nm. The influences of experimental variables such as effects of pH, reagent concentration, standard/sample volume and interferences were investigated. Under optimal conditions, the automated method showed linearity up to 20 mg L⁻¹ for albumin and 100 mg L⁻¹ for creatinine. The 3σ detection limits were 0.6 and 3.5 mg L⁻¹ for albumin and creatinine, respectively, and the relative standard deviations (n = 10) were 2.49% for 20 mg L⁻¹ albumin, and 3.14% for 20 mg L⁻¹ creatinine. Application of the proposed method to the direct analysis of urinary samples yielded results which agreed with those obtained from the Bradford protein assay and a creatinine enzymatic assay according to a paired t-test. The results obtained should be a step towards developing a fully automated and reliable analytical system for clinical research, which requires direct determination of albumin and creatinine and/or its ratios.     

Flow injection analysis for glucose and urea with enzyme reactors and on-line dialysis

A flow injection system for glucose and urea determination is described. The glucose determination uses immobilized glucose oxidase in a reactor designed to give 100% substrate conversion. The hydrogen peroxide formed is converted to a coloured complex with 4-aminophenazone and N,N-dimethylaniline. The coupling is catalysed by a reactor containing immobilized peroxidase. The coloured complex is measured in a flow-through spectrophotometric cell. Urea is converted to ammonia in a reactor with immobilized urease and detected with an ammonia gas membrane electrode. Proteins and other interfering species from serum samples are removed in an on-line dialyzer. Calibration curves are linear for glucose in the range 1.6 × 10^-4–1.6 × 10^-2 M and for urea in the range 10^-4–10^-1 M. The samples are 25 μl for glucose determination and 100 μl for urea determination. Linear ranges can be changed by varying the sample sizes. The effects of the dialyser, enzyme reactors and detectors on dispersion are evaluated.     

Improved Performance of the Potentiometric Biosensor for the Determination of Creatinine

Abstract

Contemporary methods of analyzing creatinine engage chemicals harmful to the environment and generate large volumes of waste disposals. By introducing a membrane‐based potentiometric biosensor with immobilized creatinine deaminase, the measurements can be performed by miniaturized portable devices that are easy to handle and allow rapid analysis with minimum consumption of chemicals. Thus, the enzymatic creatinine biosensors were revisited and optimized with respect to repeatability, sensitivity, limit of detection (LOD), and response time. A detection limit of 0.3 µM and a sensitivity of 58.78±0.03 mV (23.5°C) were obtained in tris buffer at pH=7.4 after introduction of shielding of all electronics and software filtering. Measurements performed by flow injection analysis (FIA) showed that the response time could be lowered to approximately 30 sec using sample volumes of 30 µl. Interferences were corrected for by application of the Nicolsky‐Eisenman equation, thus allowing determination of creatinine in matrices resembling those of clinical measurements. Investigations of sandwich structures showed that the sensitivity decreased as a function of the number of membranes on top of the immobilized layer of active creatinine deaminase. It was thus shown that the sensitivity depends on the distance of diffusion of species from the sample solution through the membranes to the enzyme.     

Development of a creatinine enzyme-based bar-code-style lateral-flow assay

A lateral-flow, enzyme-based, bar-code assay for creatinine employing the concept of combination of diffusion and kinetics controlled has been developed. Unlike the traditional bar-code version of immunochromatographic assay, which depends on the stepwise capture of colorimetric tracer-labeled antibody–antigen complex by the immobilized antibody on each successive line, the principle of our proposed assay is based on the delay in TMB release and its diffusion in combination with horseradish peroxidase kinetics. Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) produced from enzymatic reactions acts as a limiting factor, which controls the rate of conversion of TMB to blue color complex. The assay takes advantage of giving ladder bar result therefore without the need of any reading device. Depending on the amount of enzymes used, the assay can be one (9 min) or two steps (19 min). The strip assay semiquantitatively measures creatinine concentrations ranging from 0 to 400 μM. Thirty urine samples and thirty serum samples were tested, and the assay showed 90.0% and 86.7% agreement compared with conventional Jaffé method, respectively. This assay provides a tool for quick identification of creatinine for patients without the requirement of any instrument. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Pretreatment-free immunochromatographic assay for the detection of streptomycin and its application to the control of milk and dairy products

A rapid pretreatment-free immunochromatographic assay was developed for the control of the streptomycin (STR) content in milk and dairy products. The assay is based on the competition between an immobilized STR–protein conjugate and STR in a sample to be tested for the binding to monoclonal anti-STR antibodies conjugated to colloidal gold during the flow of the sample along a membrane strip with immobilized reactants. It is possible to improve the cut-off level of positive and negative samples distinguished by a change in the molar STR to protein ratio in the immobilized conjugate. The cut-off level (500 ng mL⁻¹) thus achieved corresponds to the stated MRL of STR in milk and dairy products. For STR concentrations in the range of 16–250 ng mL⁻¹ its content can be quantitatively measured based on the degree of binding of a colloidal gold label in the test strip zone with the immobilized STR–protein conjugate. The duration of the assay is 10 min. The selected sizes of membrane pores and colloidal gold particles allow the assay to be carried out at room temperature without additional reactants and pretreatment. The applicability of the assay for milk, whole milk, sour clotted milk, and kefir with different fat content (from 0.5% to 6%) was confirmed. The results of quantitative immunochromatographic assay show good correlation with traditional ELISA (r was equal to 0.935 and 0.940 for the series tested).     

Utilization of adsorption-immobilized urease in gas-diffusion flow injection

A gas-diffusion flow-injection system for the assay of urea is reported. Urea is enzymatically converted to ammonia, which is determined spectrophotometrically by detecting the change in absorbance of a mixed pH indicator. The enzyme is immobilized by addition of perfluoroalkyl chains to the free amine groups of the enzyme and then adsorption of this modified enzyme on a polytetrafluoroethylene gas-diffusion membrane. The method is applicable in the range 0.1–500 mM urea. The procedure was used in comparison assays using blood serum samples.     

A novel enzyme electrode method for the determination of nitrite based on nitrite reductase

The enzyme, nitrite reductase, can be extracted and purified from spinach leaves; the freeze-dried preparation is completely stable for at least 4 months if kept in a freezer. The enzyme catalyzes the reduction of nitrite to ammonia in the presence of reduced methyl viologen as electron donor. An assay of nitrite can be based on the measurement of the ammonia formation, with an air-gap electrode as sensor. Nitrite in the 10⁻⁴ M—5 · lO⁻² M range can be accurately determined with either soluble or immobilized enzyme, but the latter is stable for at least 3 weeks, is less susceptible to interferences during assay, and can be used repeatedly for about a hundred runs. These advantages make the method very simple, valuable and economical for the routine analysis of nitrite ion.     

Fluorometric determination of urea in alcoholic beverages by using an acid urease column-FIA system

An acid urease column was applied to a fluorometric flow-injection analysis (FIA) system as a recognition element for determination of urea in rice wines.

The acid urease has specific properties of showing its catalytic activity in low pH range and tolerance to ethanol in comparison to those of a urease from jack-beans. The enzymes were covalently immobilized onto porous glass beads with controlled pore size and then, packed into a small polymer column. The flow-type of the biosensing system was assembled with a sample injection valve, the immobilized enzyme column, and a flow-through quartz cell attached to a fluorescent spectrophotometer. Citrate buffer (50 mM, pH 5.0) as the carrier solution was continuously pumped through the system. Sample solutions were introduced into the system via a rotary injection valve. A standard urea solution was measured through monitoring variations in fluorescent intensity attributable to fluorescent isoindole derivatives formed by coupling with ammonia molecules released in the enzymatic hydrolysis of urea and orthophthalaldehyde reagents. The fluorescent intensity was measured under the conditions of λ_ex = 415 nm and λ_em = 485 nm. A wide, linear relationship was obtained between the concentration of urea (1.0–100 μM) and the variation in fluorescent intensity. The monitoring did not suffer from ethanol and various amino acids contained in rice wines. Real samples pretreated with ion exchange resins for removal of endogenous ammonia were introduced into the FIA system and urea in the samples was determined. These results were compared with those obtained with use of an F-kit method. The proposed FIA system should present sensitive, selective and convenient analysis of urea in alcoholic beverages.     

Development and application of a biosensor for hypoxanthine in fish extract

A hypoxanthine biosensor was constructed using immobilized xanthine oxidase and a polarographic electrode. The enzyme was covalently immobilized on a commercially available preactivated nylon membrane. The polarographic electrode detected hydrogen peroxide and uric acid released during the enzymatic reaction. The electrode responded linearly to hypoxanthine concentration in the range 3.6–107 μM. When applied to the determination of hypoxanthine in several fish meats, the results obtained agreed well with those obtained by the conventional enzymatic method. More than 40 assays could be performed with the same membrane and each sample could be assayed in ca. 2–3 min. The biosensor provides a reliable, simple, rapid and economical method for the measurement of hypoxanthine, a useful indicator of fish freshness.