By Canatu
The new point-of-care electrochemical sensor for bedside blood concentration measurement enables real-time detection of analgesics from blood without extensive sample treatment, improving test result wait time, cost, and convenience. Canatu carbon nanotube (CNT) -based electrochemical sensor is designed for fast detection of analgesics in blood, saliva and urine. Developed within Fast Electrochemical Point-of-Care Diagnostics FEDOC project, the new Canatu CNT -based point-of-care (POC) testing offers caregivers rapid detection at lower cost, ease of use, and convenience with portability. Because of its compact size, the sensor can be used in several settings, which can cut the detection time from hours to minutes. The sensor is now being evaluated with clinical samples from the Helsinki University Hospital. The new portable electrochemical device can detect a range of analgesics (such as opioids and acetaminophen) with high sensitivity and selectivity from small samples, such as a single blood drop. This enables the use of non-invasive capillary blood, urine, and saliva in testing the concentrations of the analgesics. Because of its small size, the test can also be conducted at the point of care, such as at clinics, at home and remote areas where on-site testing and rapid results are critical for well-informed patient care. Canatu carbon nanotubes are ideal for the detection of analgesics because of their clean surface, large contact area with the analyte and high conductivity which contribute to strong signal and low detection limit. They are extremely versatile, which means the molecular structure can be tuned to maximize selectivity. Thanks to the self-filtering structure, Canatu CNTs have high resistance to fouling, which helps prevent electrode contamination by large molecules, such as proteins. Contamination can risk reliability by preventing contact with the analyte.
