Dunne, Nicholas

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.

In this study, we present a simple and effective process that integrates hydrogels with drugs + ceramics via physical crosslinks resulting in improved mechanical properties. These cryogels have the potential for controlled drug release and stimulus responsive behavior. The hydrogels were produced from polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyacrylic acid by varying the molecular weight of the polymers, via freeze‐thawing technique. The cryogels were combined with two ceramics: (1) a combination of beta‐tricalcium phosphate, wollastonite, magnesium silicate and (2) titanium dioxide nanopowder. Theophylline, a model drug, was incorporated into the structure to analyze the drug release behavior. A layered structure was produced by adding both hydrogels + ceramics into a mold where a PVA dried film acted as a barrier and reinforcing structure. The results showed that the barrier integrated between both hydrogels by a physically crosslinking mechanism. This adhesion was demonstrated using Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Swelling of this composite showed the profile of drug release from both hydrogels + ceramics while simultaneously releasing the drug independently without diffusing via the opposite layer. Finally, mechanical properties were improved with the addition of the ceramics, which demonstrates the potential approach in terms of modification of weak hydrogel systems. POLYM. COMPOS., 39:E210–E220, 2018. © 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers