Portable droplet-based real-time monitoring of pancreatic α-amylase in postoperative patients

• Published in: Biosensors & bioelectronics Vol. 251; p. 116034
• Main Authors: Zhao, Xinne, Kolbinger, Fiona R., Distler, Marius, Weitz, Jürgen, Makarov, Denys, Bachmann, Michael, Baraban, Larysa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier B.V 01-05-2024
• Subjects: alpha-Amylases; Amylases - analysis; Biosensing Techniques; Droplet-based microfluidics; Humans; Pancreatic alpha-Amylases; Pancreatic Fistula - diagnosis; Pancreatic Fistula - etiology; Pancreatic surgery; Pancreatic α-amylase; Pancreaticoduodenectomy - adverse effects; Point-of-care diagnostics; Post-surgery diagnostics; Postoperative pancreatic fistula; Point-of-care diagnostics; Post-surgery diagnostics; Pancreatic α-amylase; Postoperative pancreatic fistula; Pancreatic surgery; Droplet-based microfluidics
• ISSN: 0956-5663; 1873-4235
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2024.116034

Postoperative complications after pancreatic surgery are frequent and can be life-threatening. Current clinical diagnostic strategies involve time-consuming quantification of α-amylase activity in abdominal drain fluid, which is performed on the first and third postoperative day. The lack of real-time monitoring may delay adjustment of medical treatment upon complications and worsen prognosis for patients. We report a bedside portable droplet-based millifluidic device enabling real-time sensing of drain α-amylase activity for postoperative monitoring of patients undergoing pancreatic surgery. Here, a tiny amount of drain liquid of patient samples is continuously collected and co-encapsulated with a starch reagent in nanoliter-sized droplets to track the fluorescence intensity released upon reaction with α-amylase. Comparing the α-amylase levels of 32 patients, 97 % of the results of the droplet-based millifluidic system matched the clinical data. Our method reduces the α-amylase assay duration to approximately 3 min with the limit of detection 7 nmol/s·L, enabling amylase activity monitoring at the bedside in clinical real-time. The presented droplet-based platform can be extended for analysis of different body fluids, diseases, and towards a broader range of biomarkers, including lipase, bilirubin, lactate, inflammation, or liquid biopsy markers, paving the way towards new standards in postoperative patient monitoring.