Nguyen, Ngan Anh

Blood iron levels are related to many health conditions, affecting hundreds of millions of individuals worldwide. To aid in the prevention and treatment of iron-related disorders, previous research has developed a low-cost, accurate, point-of-care method for measuring iron from a single finger-prick blood sample. This study builds upon that work by introducing an improved imaging method that accurately reads sensor images irrespective of variations in environmental illumination and camera quality. Smartphone cameras were used as analytical tools, demonstrating an average coefficient of variation of 5.13% across different phone models, and absorbance results were found to be improved by 8.80% compared to the method in a previous study. The proposed method successfully enhances iron detection accuracy under diverse lighting conditions, paving the way for smartphone-based sensing of other colorimetric reactions involving various analytes.

Objectives: This study evaluates the efficacy of existing and new aerosol mitigation methods during nebulization (Neb) in combination with high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) oxygen supplementation and non-invasive ventilation (NIV). Methods: We recorded fugitive aerosol particle concentrations over time and assessed the peak (P) and area (A) efficacy of active and passive mitigation methods, comparing them to a no-mitigation condition. Peak efficacy was measured by the reduction in maximum aerosol concentration, while area efficacy was quantified by the reduction of the area under the aerosol concentration–time curve. Results: For HFNC with Neb, we found that active mitigation using a mask with a biofilter and a fan (referred to as the aerosol barrier mask) significantly outperformed passive mitigation with a face mask. The peak and area efficacy for aerosol reduction were 99.0% and 96.4% for active mitigation and 35.9% and 7.6% for passive mitigation, respectively. For NIV with Neb, the active mitigation method, using a box with a biofilter and fan, also outperformed passive mitigation using only the box. The peak and area efficacy for aerosol reduction were 92.1% and 85.5% for active mitigation and 53.7.0% and 25.4% for passive mitigation, respectively. Conclusion: We concluded that active mitigation set up systems advantageous for effective reduction of airborne aerosols during aerosol generated procedures.

Ketones, which are key biomarkers of fat oxidation, are relevant for metabolic health maintenance and disease development, making continuous monitoring essential. In this study, we introduce a novel colorimetric sensor designed for potential continuous acetone detection in biological fluids. The sensor features a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) shell that encapsulates a sensitive and specific liquid-core acetone-sensing probe. The microsphere sensors were characterized by evaluating their size, PDMS shell thickness, colorimetric response, and sensitivity under realistic conditions, including 100% relative humidity (RH) and CO2 interference. The microsphere size and sensor sensitivity can be controlled by modifying the fabrication parameters. Critically, the sensor showed high selectivity for acetone detection, with negligible interference from CO2 concentrations up to 4%. In addition, the sensor displayed good reproducibility (CV < 5%) and stability under realistic storage conditions (over two weeks at 4 °C). Finally, the accuracy of the microsphere sensor was validated against a gold standard gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method using simulated and real breath samples from healthy individuals and type 1 diabetes patients. The correlation between the microsphere sensor and GC-MS produced a linear fit with a slope of 0.948 and an adjusted R-squared value of 0.954. Therefore, the liquid-core microsphere-based sensor is a promising platform for acetone body fluid analysis.

Ketones are well-known biomarkers of fat oxidation produced in the liver as a result of lipolysis. These biomarkers include acetoacetic acid and β-hydroxybutyric acid in the blood/urine and acetone in our breath and skin. Monitoring ketone production in the body is essential for people who use caloric intake deficit to reduce body weight or use ketogenic diets for wellness or therapeutic treatments. Current methods to monitor ketones include urine dipsticks, capillary blood monitors, and breath analyzers. However, these existing methods have certain disadvantages that preclude them from being used more widely. In this work, we introduce a novel acetone sensor device that can detect acetone levels in breath and overcome the drawbacks of existing sensing approaches. The critical element of the device is a robust sensor with the capability to measure acetone using a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) chip and convenient data analysis from a red, green, and blue deconvolution imaging approach. The acetone sensor device demonstrated sensitivity of detection in the micromolar-concentration range, selectivity for detection of acetone in breath, and a lifetime stability of at least one month. The sensor device utility was probed with real tests on breath samples using an established blood ketone reference method.