A sensitive determination of uric acid in serum using uricase/catalase/formaldehyde dehydrogenase coupled with formate dehydrogenase.

We developed and evaluated an assay for serum uric acid based on the uricase (EC 1.7.3.3)-catalase (EC 1.11.1.6)-formaldehyde dehydrogenase (FADH, EC 1.2.1.46) method coupled with formate dehydrogenase (formate:NAD oxidoreductase, FDH, EC 1.2.1.2). Formate dehydrogenase from Pseudomonas oxalaticus catalyzes the formation of NADH from formate produced by FADH. Owing to the NADH and formate oxidase activity of the FDH itself, the full reaction curve is not linear, but gradually decreases. The formation of NADH is not stoichiometric with formate removal, but is strictly proportional to it. To overcome this decrease of extinction, we added hydroxylamine hydrochloride to the FDH. The sensitivity of the full reaction in the presence of FDH was about 1.8 times that without FDH. Analysis with a Cobas Bio centrifugal analyzer revealed a linearity of up to 3.56 mmol/L. The uricase-catalase-alcohol dehydrogenase method correlated well with the uricase-peroxidase-chromogen method. Our method is more sensitive than other methods.