Home Saliva Tests: A Potential Alternative to Daily Finger Pricks for Diabetics
For people with diabetes, having to do painful daily finger-prick blood tests is a common and uncomfortable experience. However, scientists created a sample device for home use that checks blood sugar levels using saliva instead.
We already knew that the amounts of glucose (and some other biomarker substances) in saliva are linked to those in the blood. However, since glucose levels are much lower in saliva, we need special lab equipment to measure them accurately.
Electrochemical Aptamer-based (E-AB) Biosensor
Scientists from Université de Sherbrooke in Quebec and the Colgate-Palmolive Company in New Jersey aimed to improve this situation. They explored the use of a tool called an electrochemical aptamer-based (E-AB) biosensor, which is already available.
These gadgets include a specially designed piece of DNA called an aptamer, which attaches to a specific biomarker in a sample. When this occurs, the sensor generates a signal that can be measured using electricity.
The Sensitivity of Aptamers
Normally, the aptamers in E-AB biosensors can’t detect glucose in saliva very well. To improve this, Professor Philippe Dauphin-Ducharme and his team at the University of Sherbrooke increased the sensitivity of aptamers that were already good at measuring glucose levels in the blood.
The changed aptamers were placed on a gold electrode in an E-AB biosensor. This sensor was dipped into saliva from some volunteers. It not only gave precise glucose readings in just 30 seconds but also stayed sensitive for a week if cleaned and kept in a special solution after each use.
Other Biomarkers
This technology can also find other biomarkers by using different aptamers. The researchers made another version of the device that effectively measured the levels of AMP (adenosine monophosphate) in saliva, which is a biomarker linked to gum disease.
Read the Original Article: NEW ATLAS
Read more: Study Reveals Chemical Exposures Linked to Cancer in Women
