Lab-on-an-Organ: A droplet based portable continuous chemical sensor

我们打算开发一种新型的便携式连续化学传感器。该传感器是一种新型的监测技术，在流体采样、在线和离线化学分析以及系统集成方面具有新颖性。直接从组织或其他体液中连续测量生物分子/药物浓度，为了解生理或病理过程、记录对刺激的反应、药物代谢，甚至开发使用生物标记物水平实时指导治疗的新疗法提供了令人兴奋的可能性。然而，这样的测量具有挑战性--流体是复杂的混合物，体积可能非常小，检测方法也是有限的。在这里，一个来自工程、医学和健康科学的多学科团队提议通过开发一种能够实现的便携式传感器设备来应对这一挑战。该设备结合了微透析和液滴微流控技术，将体液采样成纳米升液滴，在现场进行分析和测量，并与用户进行无线通信。我们的目标是开发一整套传感器组件，并在皮肤、脑微透析和游离皮瓣手术的临床环境中进行测试。我们预计，这项新技术将彻底改变目前的采样和化学传感做法，并在疾病诊断和监测、药物开发、器官移植等领域获得广泛应用。

We propose to develop a novel portable continuous chemical sensor. The sensor is a new type of monitoring technology, with novelties on fluidics sampling, online and offline chemical analysis and system integration. Continuous measurement of biomolecule/drug concentrations directly from tissue or the other body fluids offers the exciting possibility of understanding physiological or pathological processes, recording responses to stimuli, drug metabolism, and even developing new therapies that use biomarker levels to guide treatment in real time. However, such measurement is challenging - the fluids are complex mixtures, the volumes can be very small, and detection methods are limited. Here a multidisplinary team from engineering, medicine and health science, propose to tackle this challenge through the development of an enabling portable sensor device. The device combines microdialysis and droplet microfluidic techniques, will sample body fluids into nano litre droplets, perform assays and measurements in situ, and communicate wirelessly to the user. We aim to develop the whole sensor package and test it in clinical settings for dermal, brain microdialysis and free flap surgery. We envisage this novel technology will revolutionize the current practices of sampling and chemical sensing, and find broad applications in disease diagnostics and monitoring, drug development, organ transplantation and the other areas.