If you take the right amount of lithium, you can get rid of the symptoms of depression. Too much can cause dangerous side effects. Invasive blood tests are needed to monitor the amount of this medication. Scientists report the invention of a tiny sensor that can be used without a trip to the doctor.
The results of the research will be presented at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society.
Patients may miss pills if they struggle to take it as prescribed. When the medication doesn't seem to work, health care providers need to know how much the patient is taking. Current options for monitoring have drawbacks. Blood draws are time consuming and can produce inaccurate results. The intake of the medication is not directly measured by pill counter. Another body fluid was used to address the limitations.
Shuyu Lin, a postgraduate student researcher who is co-presenting the work with a graduate student at the meeting, says that the human body is constantly producing sweat. There are small molecule compounds derived from medication in that sweat. This was an opportunity for us to develop a new type of sensor.
Sam Emaminejad, the project's principal investigator, says that the new device can get clinically useful information about what is circulating in the body. We already interact with a lot of touch-based electronics, so this sensor could integrate into daily life.
There were some technical challenges associated with the development of a sensor. Sweat is only present in minute amounts, but it's necessary to detect charged particles of lithium in the water. The gel was made with water and glycerol. The electronic portion of the sensor was protected from drying out by the extra ingredient.
A difference in potential is generated by the accumulating ion. The researchers looked at the difference between the concentration of sweat and that of saliva. The components comprise a tiny, rectangular sensor that is about the size of a thumbtack and can detect the presence of the battery in about 30 seconds. The researchers envision incorporating the sensor into a larger system that will provide visual feedback to the patient or provider.
The team recruited real people to test the sensor and one of them was on a treatment regimen for the disease. The researchers took a saliva sample from this person before and after they took the medicine. They found that the measures were close to those derived from saliva. The researchers will look at the effects of skin products on the sensor's readings.
This technology can also be applied to other types of materials. Emaminejad is trying to develop touch-based sensors that can detect alcohol and other substances. A robotic system that releases medication only if the patient has a low level in their bloodstream is one of the features that could be included in the complete sensors.
More information: Touch-based non-invasive lithium monitoring using an organohydrogel-based sensing interface, ACS Fall 2022. www.acs.org/content/acs/en/mee … tings/fall-2022.html
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