Ilkka Lähdesmäki

A contact lens with embedded sensor for monitoring tear glucose level

We report the design, construction, and testing of a contact lens with an integrated amperometric glucose sensor, proposing the possibility of in situ human health monitoring simply by wearing a contact lens. The glucose sensor was constructed by creating microstructures on a polymer substrate, which was subsequently shaped into a contact lens. Titania sol-gel film was applied to immobilize glucose oxidase, and Nafion® was used to decrease several potential interferences (ascorbic acid, lactate, and urea) present in the tear film. The sensor exhibits a fast response (20s), a high sensitivity (240 μA cm(-2) mM(-1)) and a good reproducibility after testing a number of sensors. It shows good linearity for the typical range of glucose concentrations in the tear film (0.1-0.6 mM), and acceptable accuracy in the presence of interfering agents. The sensor can attain a minimum detection of less than 0.01 mM glucose.

A soft hydrogel contact lens with an encapsulated sensor for tear glucose monitoring

We report a hydrogel-based contact lens with an encapsulated glucose sensor. The sensor is fabricated on a flexible transparent parylene film. The parylene-based sensor is then encased inside a soft contact lens made of poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (polyHEMA) hydrogel. We test the glucose sensor with different concentrations of glucose and interfering chemicals found in tear film, such as ascorbic acid. The rapid response, good linearity and repeatability demonstrate the basic functionality of this soft contact lens.

Functional modular contact lens

Tear fluid offers a potential route for non-invasive sensing of physiological parameters. Utilization of this potential depends on the ability to manufacture sensors that can be placed on the surface of the eye. A contact lens makes a natural platform for such sensors, but contact lens polymers present a challenge for sensor fabrication. This paper describes a microfabrication process for constructing sensors that can be integrated into the structure of a functional contact lens in the future. To demonstrate the capabilities of the process, an amperometric glucose sensor was fabricated on a polymer substrate. The sensor consists of platinum working and counter electrodes, as well as a region of indium-tin oxide (ITO) for glucose oxidase immobilization. An external silver-silver chloride electrode was used as the reference electrode during the characterization experiments. Sensor operation was validated by hydrogen peroxide measurements in the 10- 20 μM range and glucose measurements in the 0.125-20 mM range.

Functional Contact Lenses for Remote Health Monitoring in Developing Countries

The opportunities afforded by using a functional contact lens for remote wireless health status monitoring are discussed and the progress to date in the development of this technology platform is presented. A functional contact lens complete with sensors and embedded circuitry can be used to monitor the composition of tear fluid and, by extension, a number of health-status related parameters in the body in a noninvasive and continuous fashion. The data collected by the disposable contact lens may be sent wirelessly to a mobile phone that, in turn, can relay the information to a medical practitioner via the cellular phone network. If successfully developed and deployed, such a system can be used for monitoring a variety of health indicators over a large geographic area and population distribution with minimal need for the physical presence of health care providers.

A dual microscale glucose sensor on a contact lens, tested in conditions mimicking the eye

We report a microscale dual (signal and control) glucose sensor on a contact lens, and test its performance using a physiologically accurate eye model built on a polymer platform complete with fluidic channels mimicking tear ducts. We show that the sensor incorporated into a contact lens has enough sensitivity to detect glucose at levels found in the tear film. We also demonstrate that the differential design can be used to reject the impact of interfering chemicals found in the tear film such as ascorbic acid, lactate and urea. The test platform presented here enables the testing of contact lenses in a controlled environment that mimics the surface of the eye.

In-situ monitoring of H2O2 degradation by live cells using voltammetric detection in a lab-on-valve system

This paper describes a method for monitoring the degradation of hydrogen peroxide by cells immobilized on a beaded support. The detection is based on the voltammetric reduction of hydrogen peroxide on a mercury film working electrode, whilst combining the concept of sequential injection (SI) with the lab-on-valve (LOV) manifold allows the measurements to be carried out in real time and automatically, in well-defined conditions. The method is shown to be capable of simultaneously monitoring hydrogen peroxide in the 10-1000 microM range and oxygen in the 160-616 microM range. A correction algorithm has been used to ensure reliable H2O2 results in the presence of varying oxygen levels. The method has been successfully applied to monitoring the degradation of H2O2 by wild-type cells and by catalase-overexpressing mouse embryonic fibroblasts. Since the technique allows the monitoring of the initial response rate, it provides data not accessible by current methods that are end-point-based measurements.

Automated capture and on-column detection of biotinylated DNA on a disposable solid support

This work comprises the development of a technique for the capture of single-stranded DNA on a solid support combined with in situ quantification. The capture is based on the strong and selective interaction between biotinylated DNA and streptavidin-coated agarose beads. Sequential Injection in the lab-on-valve format allows for automated manipulation of all components including the building and disposal of bead columns. Detection was accomplished using the OliGreen fluorescent dye and optimization of the assay achieved a limit of detection of 111 pg ssDNA, with a total assay time of roughly 2.5 min per sample.

Measurement of cellular stimulation through monitoring pH changes by bead injection fluorescence microscopy

This work presents a method for extracellular and intracellular pH measurements in live cells based on a combination of the bead injection (BI) technique and fluorescence microscopy. For extracellular pH measurement, cells are grown on fluorescent beads, packed into a small column by a sequential injection instrument, and fluorescence intensity from the beads stained by the indicator is recorded by a fluorescence microscope. The method is applied to quantifying carbachol stimulation of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells transfected with the m1 muscarinic receptor and is verified by a glucose depletion experiment. The results yield an EC(50) value of 1 muM for carbachol, which is in reasonable agreement with the literature value 3 muM determined by an existing potentiometric technique for measuring acid release. The intracellular measurement utilizes CHO M1 cells growing on non-fluorescent beads. For this method the cells rather than the beads are stained by incubating them in a solution of the fluorescent pH indicator BCECF. The cells are also stimulated with carbachol and the intracellular pH dependent fluorescence from the cells is recorded. The results show dependence between intracellular pH changes and carbachol concentration and yield an EC(50) value of 4 muM.

Two-parameter monitoring in a lab-on-valve manifold, applied to intracellular H2O2 measurements

This work introduces, for the first time, simultaneous monitoring of fluorescence and absorbance using Bead Injection in a Lab-on-valve format. The aim of the paper is to show that when the target species, cells immobilized on a stationary phase, are exposed to reagents under well-controlled reaction conditions, dual monitoring yields valuable information. The applicability of this technique is demonstrated by the development of a Bead Injection method for automated measurement of cell density and intracellular hydrogen peroxide.

Automation of functional assays by flow injection fluorescence microscopy.

Bead-injection spectroscopy is a novel technique that uses immobilized eukaryotic cells on microbeads as a renewable biosensor for fluorescence microscopy. The use of a flow injection instrument allows fast functional assays that generate full kinetic characterization of a drug. Because the cell population is automatically replaced for each assay, variability is minimized, thus allowing greater accuracy.