Scheda di dettaglio
 

Microfluidic patch for separating specific species in biological fluids and related electrochemical sensing device

The present invention describes a sensing device for the selective detection of specific ions in biological fluids, in particular sweat. The device includes a membrane made of 2-dimensional stacked nanosheets of graphene or related materials (GRM). Ions and small solvent molecules are able to diffuse between the monoatomic sheets with variable diffusivity depending on the ionic size and charge. A set of electrodes before and after the GRM membrane applies an electric bias to foster the migration of ions across the membrane and their detection through conductometric sensing. The novelty of the invention relates mainly to its ability to allow the transport of only selected target ions to the inner electrodes. In this way, it is possible to measure the presence and concentration of the analyte in complex matrices with no interference from other substances, thanks to the nano-sieving action of the outer membrane.

 
 


Inventori

  • PALERMO VINCENZO
  • Zanardi Chiara
  • Quintano Vanesa
 
 


TitolaritÀ

  • Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
 
 


Classificazioni

  • diagnosi, chirurgia, medicina
 
 


Settore Tecnologico

  • Biosensori
 
 


Keyword

  • Graphene, Sensors, Electrochemistry, Electrolyte, Wearable electronics, Biomedical devices, Sweat, Filtering
 
 


Vantaggi

This invention could give breakthrough applications in the detection sodium, potassium or chlorine ions related to serious diseases such as hyponatremia and hypernatremia, hypokalemia and hyperkalemia, heart disorders and cystic fibrosis. Furthermore, it could give novel applications for the control of sodium and chloride as an indicator of the dehydration status of athletes. While wearable ion sensors for such ions have already been described, the complexity of the biological matrix (in this case, sweat) renders the production of reliable, stable and selective sensors challenging. Selectivity is generally obtained by deposition of a specific chemical receptor for the target ion on the surface of the transducer.[8, 9] The nanotechnology approach described here exploits a specific property of GRM membranes to exclude from the sensing device all substances except the targeted ions, thus overcoming most of the issues related to biological fluids, while showing intrinsic selectivity without further electrode modifications.

 
 


Applicazioni
 
fonte dati: "Gestione Trovati" | brevetti.cnr.it | www.cnr.it | Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche | P.le Aldo Moro, 7 | 00185 Roma