Laser printing based colorimetric paper sensors for glucose and ketone detection: Design, fabrication, and theoretical analysis

• Published in: Sensors and actuators. B, Chemical Chemical, 2022-11, Vol.371, p.132599, Article 132599
• Main Authors: Mukhopadhyay, Manikuntala, Subramanian, Sri Ganesh, Durga, K. Vijaya, Sarkar, Debasish, DasGupta, Sunando
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomarkers; Colorimetry; Dynamic models; Estimation; Glucose; Glucose detection; Health care; Ketone detection; Ketones; Laser printing; Monitoring; Paper device; Porous media; Reaction kinetics; Richards’ equation; Sensors; Telemedicine; Urine
• ISSN: 0925-4005; 1873-3077
• DOI: 10.1016/j.snb.2022.132599

Regular monitoring of glucose and ketone contents in the body is vital for diabetic patients. Although estimation of the ketone content is necessary for proper healthcare monitoring, the research on the detection of ketone bodies is still nascent. Moreover, inaccurate eye-estimations and reliability are the key limitations of the widely used methodologies for estimating glucose in urine. Hence, simple procedures for fabricating reliable sensors are crucial for on-demand healthcare monitoring. Herein, we posit that a commercially available laser printer, without any added modifications, can be used to make paper-based sensors for colorimetric estimation of glucose and ketone in urine. We conducted a comprehensive experimental investigation to optimize the device designs for rapid estimation of the biomarkers. Also, for the first time, we present a detailed dynamic model of the flow-field in a variable cross-section paper device while considering the species transport and reaction kinetics within the porous media. Finally, we performed experiments with real urine samples to validate that our devices could detect results with zero false negatives. We believe that our present investigation and methodology can enable rapid and reliable fabrication of paper-based sensors for several fundamental studies and applications on affordable and non-invasive healthcare monitoring. [Display omitted] •A simple laser printer was used to make paper-based sensors for reliable estimation of glucose and ketone in urine.•A model was developed considering the variable channel area, the species transport and reaction kinetics in a paper device.•A desktop-based application was also developed for automatic estimation of the biomarkers in urine.•The methodology detected results with zero false negatives for complex real diseased samples.