Device to detect urea in milk sprouts out of melon seeds

Varanasi: What began as a casual conversation between two scientists over disposal of watermelon seeds, germinated into a potential breakthrough for dairy industry. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-BHU) and Banaras Hindu University researchers have invented a novel bioelectronic device capable of detecting urea contamination in milk with high sensitivity.
The revolutionary technology harnesses an unexpected resource—watermelon seeds—and utilises enzyme urease to create a cost-effective, easy-to-produce and highly efficient biosensor.
Led by Arvind M Kayastha, senior professor at BHU's School of Biotechnology and Pranjal Chandra, associate professor of biochemical engineering at IIT-BHU, the team discovered an enzyme urease in watermelon seeds that helps break down urea.
"Our innovation began with something as simple as a casual remark about why watermelon seeds should not be thrown away," said Kayastha, adding, "From that small idea, we developed a technology with the potential to improve dramatically food safety in dairy industry and even outperforms commercial alternatives."
The idea that stayed with Kayastha and Chandra was executed into a realistic technology by PhD students Prince Kumar at BHU and Daphika S Dkhar of IIT-BHU.
The watermelon urease enzyme was immobilised on a nanohybrid system consisting of gold nanoparticles and graphene oxide.
This gave the device enhanced electrochemical and bioelectronic properties, enabling rapid and accurate urea detection in milk samples without complex preparation.
The developed sensor is not only highly sensitive but also meets detection standards of regulatory bodies such as the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
This technology could potentially transform on-site testing in dairy farms and processing facilities, ensuring faster and more reliable urea level monitoring.
The team has filed a patent for this innovative bio-recognition element-based nano-sensor. Their research has also been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (ACS), USA, further validating the sensor's effectiveness compared to the current gold-standard DMAB method.
The breakthrough highlights the immense potential hidden in agricultural by-products and importance of interdisciplinary collaboration.
The team's success serves as a reminder that sometimes the most transformative ideas come from everyday observations—like value of watermelon seeds most people throw away.