PFI-TT: A Low-Cost Cortisol Sensor for Real-Time Stress Monitoring

这个PFI项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种低成本的皮质醇传感技术，用于早期检测与压力有关的疾病。皮质醇是用于人类受试者中的压力评估的生物标志物。皮质醇水平升高与压力相关疾病有关，包括慢性疲劳综合征、创伤后应激障碍和神经退行性疾病，包括阿尔茨海默病和多发性硬化症。因此，准确测量唾液和汗液中的皮质醇对于预测多种身体和精神疾病具有越来越重要的临床意义。虽然现有的实验室技术，如ELISA和FIA，可以提供精确的皮质醇测量，但它们通常太慢，需要快速反应或干预。所提出的技术克服了显著的限制，例如必须具有指定的样品体积来执行测试、总测试时间和昂贵的光学检测单元。该技术的实质性优势是在几分钟内产生皮质醇结果，可以取代繁琐的实验室技术。这项技术将创建个性化的行为干预，以调节皮质醇水平，并预防高危临床人群的压力相关健康问题。皮质醇传感技术将为医院、诊断实验室和制药行业提供解决方案，这些行业越来越依赖快速、灵敏、可重复和全自动化的技术。拟议的项目旨在将之前由NSF资助开发的传感器技术转化为低成本的手持式传感设备，以监测护理点（POC）监测中的唾液皮质醇水平。FIU团队已经设计了皮质醇传感器的识别位点，使用抗体模拟，坚固且易于工业扩展的电活性印迹聚合物，允许以易于部署和便携的形式将设备封装。为了将传感器推向市场，该项目将合并为两个目标：（i）传感器稳定性和测量可重复性，以及（ii）降低成本和尺寸。为了实现这些目标，FIU团队将1）使用新型电活性单体开发用于皮质醇的高亲和力和无试剂MIP传感器，以及2）构建低成本手持/便携式原型供现场使用。拟议中的皮质醇传感器将能够通过智能手机应用程序将实时数据从传感器发送到虚拟服务器。实时数据将在虚拟机上进行填充和处理，并由用户在个人电脑或智能手机应用程序上存档。该项目将加强健康科学和工程领域之间的跨大学合作;该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this PFI project is to develop a low-cost cortisol sensing technology for early detection of stress-related diseases. Cortisol is a biomarker used for stress evaluation in human subjects. Increased cortisol levels have been linked to stress-related diseases, including chronic fatigue syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, and neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease, and multiple sclerosis. Therefore accurate measurement of cortisol in saliva, and sweat, is gaining increasing clinical significance to predict multiple physical and mental diseases. While existing laboratory techniques, such as ELISA and FIA, can provide precise cortisol measurements, they are generally too slow, where a rapid response or intervention is needed. The proposed technology overcomes significant limitations such as the necessity of having specified sample volume to perform a test, total testing time, and expensive optical detection unit. The substantial advantage of the proposed technology is to produce cortisol results within few minutes and can replace tedious laboratory-based techniques. This technology will create personalized behavioral intervention to regulate cortisol levels and prevent stress-related health problems for at-risk clinical populations. The proposed cortisol sensing technology will provide solutions to hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, and pharmaceutical industries, which increasingly rely on fast, sensitive, reproducible and fully automated technologies.The proposed project aims to translate a sensor technology, developed under a previously funded NSF grant, into a low-cost, handheld sensing device to monitor the salivary cortisol levels in point-of-care (POC) monitoring. The FIU team has engineered recognition site of cortisol sensor using antibody- mimic, robust and easily industrially scalable electroactive imprinted polymers that allow to miniaturize device in easily deployable and portable format. In order to translate the sensor into the market, the project will be consolidated into two goals: (i) sensor stability and measurement repeatability, and (ii) reducing cost and size. To accomplish these goals FIU team will 1) develop of high-affinity and reagent-less MIP sensor for Cortisol using novel electroactive monomers and 2) Constructing a low-cost handheld/portable prototype for field use. The proposed cortisol sensor will be capable of sending real-time data from the sensor to the virtual server via a smartphone app. The real-time data will be populated and processed on the virtual machines and will be archived by the user on their personal computer or smartphone app. The project will fortify a cross-university collaboration between the areas of health science and engineering; resulting in interdisciplinary biomedical research training for students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.