Formulation and Synthesis of Vanillin from Clove Oil as a Chemosensor for Urea Detection in Urine

Urea levels in urine play an important parameter in diagnosing bodily conditions through liver and kidney examinations. The typical reagent for detecting urea content in urine is para-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde (pDMAB). However, it has a drawback related to the instability of color in the resulting Schiff base compound (pDMAB-urea). In this study, the synthesized vanillin compound derived from clove oil serves as the foundational material for a urea chemosensor based on the colorimetric concept. The synthesized vanillin was characterized using FTIR, GC-MS, and 1H-NMR. The formulation of the vanillin compound as a sensor was conducted by assessing the suitable solvent, determining the optimal mass of vanillin, and evaluating the acid-base conditions of the sensor formulation system both qualitatively and quantitatively. Subsequently, the most effective formulation was selected for detecting urea in urine samples. The synthesis of vanillin yielded a purity level of 95%. The optimal formulation was obtained at an optimum mass of vanilla of 0.75 g in 50 mL of 96% ethanol and 10 mL of 10% NaOH. The color change in the sample was from colorless to greenish yellow (436 nm). The vanillin obtained was applied to urine samples with the best results at a sample dilution level of 10,000×.