Laser ablated ZnO thin film for amperometric detection of urea

Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films deposited onto indium tin oxide (ITO) coated corning glass substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique at two different oxygen pressures (50 mT and 100 mT) have been used as efficient matrix for realization of efficient urea biosensors after immobilization of urease (Urs) enzyme onto ZnO film surface. The bioelectrode Urs/ZnO/ITO/glass having ZnO matrix grown at 100 mT is found to be exhibiting an enhanced sensitivity of 36 μΑ mΜ⁻¹ cm⁻² for urea over a wide detection range of 5–200 mg/dl. The relatively low value of Michaelis–Menten constant (K_m = 0.82 mM) indicates high affinity of the immobilized urease towards the analyte (urea). The prepared sensor exhibits high selectivity towards detection of urea and retains 90% of its activity for more than 12 weeks. The observed enhanced response characteristics of bioelectrode is attributed to the growth of highly c-axis oriented ZnO thin film by PLD at 100 mT oxygen pressure with desired rough and porous surface morphology besides high electron communication feature. The results confirm the promising application of PLD grown ZnO thin film as an efficient matrix for urea detection.