A microfluidic chip that integrates all elements of the system is printed with a 3D printer. Credit: Rodion Narudinov / UrFU
New technology is cheaper, more efficient, and faster than traditional analogues.
researchers in Ural Federal University (UrFU) We have created a completely new sensor device for measuring blood cholesterol levels. This system does not use protein compounds, i.e. enzymes. They were replaced by chemists with the inorganic analogue copper chloride. This allowed us to make cholesterol meters more affordable and improve the speed, convenience, and accessibility of blood tests. The results of this study were recently Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry.
“Cholesterol measurements are currently performed using colorimetric, chromatographic, and enzymatic methods. However, these methods either use very aggressive reagents or complex and expensive equipment, We use enzymes, biomolecules extracted from living organisms, as value-determining recognition and sensitivity elements.For example, the enzyme cholesterol oxidase is produced by certain bacteria.”
“Also, since the enzyme is a natural polymer, protein, it is prone to denaturation and requires specific storage conditions, temperature and acidity control. One of the most affordable options is copper chloride, which was first discovered to be very sensitive to cholesterol,” said Dr. explains Andrei Okhokhonin, Associate Professor in the UrFU Department of Analytical Chemistry.
According to Andrei Okhokhonin (pictured), the chip will be printed immediately in the laboratory. Credit: Rodion Narudinov / UrFU
The new technology requires a small amount of blood to detect cholesterol levels. Blood is put into an analysis chip containing a solution of copper chloride in acetonitrile. This chip contains electrodes connected to a voltammetric he analyzer that provides analytical results. The new chip’s ability to analyze cholesterol levels also has the advantage of including magnetic nanoparticles containing polymers with molecular imprints that selectively absorb cholesterol while excluding other substances in the blood that are important to blood composition. I have.
“We need a molecularly imprinted polymer to effectively separate cholesterol from other substances in the blood. After trying several options, we chose ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as the crosslinker and functional monomer as We chose vinylpyridine, because the polymer synthesized on the surface of the magnetic nanoparticles absorbs cholesterol effectively, so that other substances do not interfere, so we can say that the selectivity of the analysis is high,” says Andrei Okhokhonin. emphasizes.
A microfluidic chip that integrates all elements of the system is printed with a 3D printer. This makes the device manufacturing process easier and faster. The scientists note that the first tests they performed were not on biological samples, but on model solutions that mimic serum. is to test the system with
Scientists have been working for several years to develop enzyme-free sensors for determining a number of biologically important substances such as glucose, urea and creatinine.
cholesterol
Total cholesterol contained in the body within normal limits is an important substance without which the proper functioning of the body is impossible.In certain amounts it is found in all body fluids and tissues. Cholesterol is an essential component of cell membranes and is involved in the ordering, compactness, and stability of lipid biolayers. In addition, they are involved in the regulation of cell wall permeability, determining which molecules can and cannot permeate the cell.
Elevated blood cholesterol is a symptom of many diseases, including atherosclerosis, genetic disorders, chronic renal failure, renal failure, hypertension, liver disease, and pancreatic disease.
Reference: “A novel electrocatalytic system based on copper(II) chloride and magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles in a 3D-printed microfluidic flow cell for enzyme-free low-potential cholesterol detection” Andrei V. Okhokhonin, Marina I. Stepanova, Tatiana S. Svalova Alisa N. Kozitsina, 28 Sept. 2022, Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jelechem.2022.116853
