ISSN 1017-2548(Print)
ISSN 2234-8530(Online)
Volume 39, Number 12
JKCSEZ 39(12)
December 20, 1995 

Urea sensors, prepared by immobilizing urease on ammonium-selective membrane electrodes doped with nonactin, can show interference from several ionic species present in blood samples (e.g., sodium, potassium, and endogenous ammonium ions). This interference problem does not arise from the immobilized biocatalytic reaction but rather from the innate response of the base transducer to ionic species in the sample. In this work, the use of calibrators containing adequate amounts of ionic species is examined to reduce errors caused by endogenous ionic interferences with blood urea measurements. Simultaneous measurements of the interfering species with additional sensors and subsequent substractions of these values from the urea electrode signals are also described. It is shown that the use of a potassium-selective electrode with an adequate calibrator system greatly enhances the accuracy of the urea sensor measurements.