Managing heart failure can be challenging as patients typically need to wait for blood tests to be performed and processed by a skilled technician. This creates a noticeable lag between the presentation of symptoms and a prognosis of their condition. This new, portable device would allow patients to assess their status at home in real time, using only their saliva.
Read an ACS press release about this research: Improving access to heart-failure screening with saliva
“Development of a microfluidic electrochemical biosensor for heart failure biomarkers in saliva”
Presented at ACS Fall 2024 on Aug. 19, 2024
Presenter: Trey Pittman
Principal investigator: Charles Henry, Ph.D.
Video credits:
Written and edited by Vangie Koonce
Produced by Vangie Koonce and Kerri Jansen
Narrated by Allison Tau
Executive produced by Matthew Radcliff
Sarah Michaud contributed research for this video.
Research videos from Trey W. Pittman and Amanda Cherwin
Additional images: Shutterstock and “Protein LGALS3 PDB 1a3k” by Emw on Wikimedia Commons
Music: “Impressive” by Mimmi Bangoura from Epidemic Sound
Sound Effects: Soundsnap
Transcript
This device can tell you about the health of your heart using only a single drop of saliva. Much like our blood, saliva is full of biomolecules. When the body is under stress, these molecules serve as biomarkers that signal the heart is struggling to pump blood.
Researchers designed a small device to test for the presence of these biomarkers in our saliva. A screen-printed carbon electrode detects the concentration of Galectin-3 proteins using electrochemistry.
Galectin-3 binds to an antibody stuck to the surface of the electrode, which triggers an oxidation reaction. A higher concentration of Galectin-3 gives a higher current, which indicates a higher risk for a cardiac event, like a heart attack.
This device would offer a non-invasive alternative to standard testing, allowing patients to monitor their condition at home or even at work. The research is being presented at ACS Fall 2024, a meeting of the American Chemical Society.
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