Development and integration of a cortisol sensor with real-time read-out to an ambulatory microdialysis sampling system

皮质醇激素是在身体和心理压力下分泌的，影响身体的大部分组织。在健康状况下，它是以昼夜节律分泌的，但当采样频率足够高时，可以看到持续约一小时的脉冲超昼夜节律。大幅度脉冲产生高电平，小幅度脉冲或无脉冲产生低电平。身体读取这些脉冲-它不仅仅是皮质醇的量，而是影响哪些基因被激活的模式。利用BBSRC的资金，我们开发了一种用于采样皮质醇的无血设备。它需要频繁的采样，让我们看到皮质醇的脉冲。我们可以把它附着在一个人身上，然后他们就可以开始自己的生活了。目前，我们正在实验室分析样品。我们想开发一种适合设备的皮质醇传感器，以便立即获得结果。我们已经确定了一种检测皮质醇的分子，但需要将其变成一个工作传感器，并将其与我们的收集设备集成。

The hormone cortisol is secreted in response to physical and psychological stress and affects most tissues in the body. In health, it is secreted in a circadian rhythm, but when samples are taken frequently enough, an ultradian rhythm of pulses lasting about an hour can be seen. Large amplitude pulses produce the highs and small or no pulses the lows. The body reads these pulses - it is not just the amount of cortisol, but the pattern that affects which genes are activated. Using BBSRC funding, we developed a blood-free device for sampling cortisol. It takes frequent samples that allow us to see the pulses of cortisol. We can attach it to an individual and they go about their life. At the moment, we analyse the samples in a laboratory. We want to develop a sensor for cortisol to fit in the device, so that the results are immediately available. We have identified a molecule that detects cortisol, but need to turn this into a working sensor and integrate this with our collection device.