Highly sensitive point-of-care sensor measures dopamine in whole blood

The concentration of dopamine in a patient's blood can be an important biomarker for a variety of diseases, including some cancers, depression, and Parkinson's disease. The measurement of dopamine in whole blood always requires a laboratory, which makes it slow and expensive and is not always suitable for tasks such as screenings.

Scientists at the University of Central Florida have developed a portable, enzyme-free dopamine detector that only takes a blood sample and provides it in just a few minutes. It is hoped that the technology will be available for point-of-treatment applications, making dopamine a common parameter even in GP practices.

The device includes a microfluidic plasma separator that automatically prepares the sample for measurement by the biosensor. The biosensor is coated with nanoparticles of cerium oxide attractive for dopamine, which allows it to settle on the surface of the sensor. As dopamine adheres to the sensor, its reflectivity changes slightly, which can be detected with the aid of optical equipment.

Excerpt from the abstract of the study in the journal Nano Letters:

We obtain the detection of dopamine at a concentration of 100 fM in a simulated body fluid and 1 nM directly from blood, without prior preparation of the sample. Detection selectivity is at least five times higher than that of common interfering species. This demonstration demonstrates the feasibility of the practical implementation of the proposed plasmonic system in the detection of various biomarkers directly from complex biological fluids.

Study in Nano Letters: Enzyme-free plasmonic biosensor for the direct detection of dopamine neurotransmitters in whole blood …

Via: University of Central Florida …