Results and discussions

2.1 TMAO Assay Optimization

Figure 1 shows that the absorbance at 370 nm and 652 nm decreases significantly at pH 1.0. The method is susceptible to the change in pH of the solution. The change in the proton concentration affects the amount of TMAO being detected. Thus, determining a pH range where TMAO detection is quantitative is imperative. A pH range where the change in absorbance is more sensitive is a better choice for detection because that will ensure a high sensitivity of the method. Therefore, a pH range of 2.0 to 2.5 was chosen for TMAO detection.