An enzymeless sensor based on a Na®on/lead-ruthenium oxide pyrochlore modi®ed electrode (NPME) is described for the sensitive estimation of hypoxanthine (Hx) using square-wave voltammetry. The NPME showed a marked catalytic activity towards the oxidation of Hx. The quasi-steady-state oxidation current for Hx on the NPME provided a crucial mechanistic indication that the process follows the Michaelis-Menten kinetics. In brief, the process involves the formation of a substrate-catalyst complex that subsequently decomposes to form product and precatalyst; the latter can afterwards be regenerated electrochemically. The Michaelis-Menten constant K m , catalytic rate constant k c , heterogeneous electrochemical rate constant k H e , and the reaction order m were evaluated. The experimental parameters were optimized for analytical estimation of Hx and the detection limit SaN 3 was found to be as low as 0.75 mM. The use of the proposed sensor to estimate the ®sh freshness is demonstrated with very good reproducibility with a relative standard deviation of 2.4 % for ten successive measurements.