Stress is often called "the silent killer" because of its stealthy and mysterious effects on everything from heart disease to mental health.
Now researchers have developed a new test that can easily and simply measure common stress hormones using sweat, blood, urine or saliva. Eventually, they hope to turn their ideas into a simple device that patients can use at home to monitor their health. The results were published this in the journal American Chemical Society Sensors.
"I wanted something that's simple and easy to interpret," said the senior author.
The researchers developed a device that uses ultraviolet light to measure stress hormones in a drop of blood, sweat, urine or saliva. These stress biomarkers are found in all of these fluids, albeit in different quantities, the senior author said.
"It measures not just one biomarker but multiple biomarkers. And it can be applied to different bodily fluids. That's what's unique," the author said.
The stress biomarkers primarily focused on in this manuscript are cortisol, serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and neuropeptide Y. UV spectroscopy of stress biomarkers performed in the 190–400 nm range has revealed primary and secondary absorption peaks at near-UV wavelengths depending on their molecular structure. UV characterization of individual and multiple biomarkers is reported in various biofluids.
A microfluidic/optoelectronic platform for biomarker detection is reported, with a prime focus toward cortisol evaluation. The current limit of detection of cortisol in sweat is ∼200 ng/mL (∼0.5 μM), which is in the normal (healthy) range. Plasma samples containing both serotonin and cortisol resulted in readily detectable absorption peaks at 203 (serotonin) and 247 (cortisol) nm, confirming feasibility of simultaneous detection of multiple biomarkers in biofluid samples.
UV spectroscopy performed on various stress biomarkers shows a similar increasing absorption trend with concentration. The detection mechanism is label free, applicable to a variety of biomarker types, and able to detect multiple biomarkers simultaneously in various biofluids.
A microfluidic flow cell has been fabricated on a polymer substrate to enable point-of-use/care UV measurement of target biomarkers. The overall sensor combines sample dispensing and fluid transport to the detection location with optical absorption measurements with a UV light emitting diode (LED) and photodiode. The biomarker concentration is indicated as a function of photocurrent generated at the target wavelength.
"You're not going to replace a full-panel laboratory blood test. That's not the intent," the seniro author said. "But if you're able to do the test at home because you're not feeling well and want to know where you stand, this will tell whether your condition has changed a little or a lot."
https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/2019/05/n20836470.html
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acssensors.9b00301
Latest News
Hyperactive platelets from…
By newseditor
Posted 19 May
Chromatin and RNA interacti…
By newseditor
Posted 18 May
Why patients with ARID1A mu…
By newseditor
Posted 18 May
Smuggling small molecule mo…
By newseditor
Posted 18 May
Men with gene mutations are…
By newseditor
Posted 17 May
Other Top Stories
High-fructose diet during pregnancy may harm placenta, restrict fet…
Read more
Astrocyte role in memory storage!
Read more
Mother's milk help shape newborns' immune systems
Read more
Role of mitochondrial enzyme in Alzheimer's disease
Read more
Microglia protect against brain injury
Read more
Protocols
Breast cancer-on-chip for p…
By newseditor
Posted 16 May
Methods for making and obse…
By newseditor
Posted 15 May
Mime-seq 2.0: a method to s…
By newseditor
Posted 13 May
Improved detection of DNA r…
By newseditor
Posted 09 May
Single-cell adhesive profil…
By newseditor
Posted 07 May
Publications
An age-progressive platelet…
By newseditor
Posted 19 May
Immunotherapy for colorecta…
By newseditor
Posted 18 May
Single-cell multiplex chrom…
By newseditor
Posted 18 May
Autophagy preferentially de…
By newseditor
Posted 18 May
Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, and…
By newseditor
Posted 18 May
Presentations
Hydrogels in Drug Delivery
By newseditor
Posted 12 Apr
Lipids
By newseditor
Posted 31 Dec
Cell biology of carbohydrat…
By newseditor
Posted 29 Nov
RNA interference (RNAi)
By newseditor
Posted 23 Oct
RNA structure and functions
By newseditor
Posted 19 Oct
Posters
A chemical biology/modular…
By newseditor
Posted 22 Aug
Single-molecule covalent ma…
By newseditor
Posted 04 Jul
ASCO-2020-HEALTH SERVICES R…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-HEAD AND NECK CANCER
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-GENITOURINARY CAN…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar