Biological microsystem for measuring uric acid in biological fluids

This paper describes a biological microsystem (bio-system) for measuring uric acid concentration in serum, plasma or urine. Its operation is based on optical absorption in a well-defined part of the visible spectrum. The bio-system is composed by two dies: one is fabricated in polystyrene and contains the microchannels and the other is fabricated in a CMOS standard process and contains the photodetector and readout electronics. The uric acid concentration is measured by using a mixture of 14 l of infinityTM uric acid reagent with 0.25 l of sample. The achieved sensitivity is 0.33 mg/dl (±0.6% of the value in urine of a healthy person), with a 1 mm lightpath. Using an optical absorption method, a maximum peak at wavelength λ = 494 nm, is detected. This bio-system can be included in the group of low-cost disposable devices for biological fluids analysis. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.