Enzyme-based Colorimetric and Potentiometric Biosensor for Detecting Pb (II) Ions in Milk

The aim of the present work was to study a simple colorimetric and potentiometric biosensor based on urease inhibition by Pb (II) ions for its estimation in milk samples. Urease immobilized on nylon membrane by hydrosol gel method was used as the biocomponent to demonstrate the metal effect on the enzyme activity using phenol red as the pH indicator. A lower limit detection of 38.6μm was achieved in the milk and the enzyme membranes were stable for more than two months at 4oC. In potentiometric approach, response of an ion selective electrode (ISE) to changing ammonium ion concentration as a consequence of urease inhibition by Pb (II) ions was explored to achieve a detection limit of 9.66 μm. Lead specificity was attained by means of masking agents 1,10 – phenanthroline and sodium potassium tartarate. Validation of the developed biosensors was carried out with spiked milk samples.