New smart sensor to adjust medication dosage for Parkinson’s disease management
Scientists have developed an affordable, user-friendly, portable smartphone-based fluorescence turn-on sensor system that could help control Parkinson’s disease. This sensor will help in accurately detecting the concentrations of L-Dopa in the body, which will help in determining the specific dose required for effective control of the disease.
Parkinson’s disease is characterized by a steady decrease in neuron cells, leading to a significant decrease in dopamine (neurotransmitter) levels in our bodies. L-dopa is a chemical that converts into dopamine in our body and therefore acts as an anti-Parkinson’s drug.
It helps in meeting the shortage of dopamine. As long as el-dopa is given in the right amount, the disease remains controllable. However, due to the progressive nature of Parkinson’s, more L-dopa is needed to compensate for the ongoing damage to neurons as the patient gets older.
However, excessive amounts of El-Dopa cause serious side effects such as dyskinesia, gastritis, psychosci.
The important role of the optimal levels of L-Dopa in therapy, it is imperative to develop a simple,
Given the important role of the optimal levels of L-Dopa in therapy, it is imperative to develop a simple, cost-effective, sensitive, and rapid method for monitoring L-Dopa in biological fluids.
Recently, the Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology, has developed an affordable, user-friendly, portable smartphone-based optical system using fluorescence turn-on mechanism to immediately detect low levels of L-Dopa in biological samples.
The sensor is made by coating the silk-fibroin protein nano-layer derived from bombix mori silk cocoons on the surface of low graphene oxide nanoparticles. This system forms core-shell graphene-based quantum dots with excellent photoluminescence properties, which results in an effective fluorescent turn-on sensor probe for detecting L-dopa in real samples such as blood plasma, sweat, and urine. Associated detection limits.
The researchers designed a smartphone-based electronic device with electric circuits connected to 365 NMLED powered by a 5V smartphone charger.
The researchers designed a smartphone-based electronic device with electric circuits connected to 365 NMLED powered by a 5V smartphone charger. The entire setup is dipped in a dark chamber to separate it from the external light. The visible colour change was observed during the sensing process by lighting the sensor probe with 365 Nm LEDs and capturing pictures on the smartphone camera. RGB values from images are used to evaluate L-dopa concentrations using a mobile app. This simple, cost-effective and fast screening tool is important for on-spot analysis detection in remote areas due to lack of state-of-the-art equipment.
By identifying whether the patient’s biological samples have low levels of L-dopa, this sensor can help adjust the dose required for effective control of the disease. read more
