Biosensor
developed by IIT team detects disorders in a few minutes
The Indian Institutes of
Technology, Bombay and Indore, have jointly developed a biosensor that makes it
possible to detect kidney disorders in less than eight minutes.
The biosensor can accurately
measure both the pH and urea concentration with a single drop of urine. The
researchers who developed it say that it will help make a point-of-care test to
determine whether the kidneys are functioning normally.
For a kidney function test,
doctors need an estimate of pH and urea as most kidney disorders result in
reduced pH and higher concentration of urea. Available methods to detect urea
require patients to undergo two tests for accuracy. In addition, there is the
problem of contaminating components in urine such as calcium, chloride,
ascorbic acid, sodium and potassium.
How it works
The biosensor, developed by
Rashmi Chaudhari, Abhijeet Joshi, and Rohit Srivastava, can detect both and is
made by encapsulating an enzyme urease and a molecule FITC-dextran in alginate
microspheres. The combination glows in response to a chemical reaction with
urea and changes in pH when urine is added. The fluorescence reduces when the
pH is acidic and increases when it is alkaline. The changes in fluorescence
intensity are measured, which helps to calculate the values of pH and urea.
