A commercial lysine oxidase (LyOx) from Trichoderma viride was immobilized covalently onto gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) electrodeposited onto Au electrode using 3-aminopropyltriethoxy silane (3-APTES) and glutaraldehyde cross linking chemistry. A lysine biosensor was fabricated using LyOx/3-APTES/AuNPs-PtNPs/Au electrode as a working electrode, Ag/AgCl (3M KCl) as standard electrode and Pt wire as auxiliary electrode connected through a potentiostat. The enzyme electrode was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The cumulative effect of AuNPs and PtNPs showed excellent electrocatalytic activity at low applied potential for detection of H2O2, a product of LyOx reaction. The sensor showed its optimum response within 4s, when polarized at 0.2V vs. Ag/AgCl in 0.1 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.5 at 30 degrees C. The linear range and detection limit of the sensor were 1.0-600 mu M and 1.0 mu M (S/N = 3), respectively. Biosensor measured lysine level in sera, milk and amino acid tablet, which correlated well with those by standard HPLC method. The enzyme electrode lost 50% of its initial activity after 200 uses over a period of 4 months. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.