Simple & Innovative Approaches for Point-of-Care Pancreatic Enzymes Detection in Paper Devices

Abstract: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a common serious abdominal illness of the digestive system. Several biomarkers have been identified to be known for the diagnosis of AP secreted from pancreatic acinar cells like amylase, proenzyme trypsinogen, and lipase. A higher level of α-amylase, lipase enzyme in human serum is a suggestive indication of the onset of pancreatitis. In this, we aim to investigate simple & innovative approaches for pancreatic lipase and α-amylase detection conjoined with different bio-functionalization techniques on a paper-based microfluidic platform. Surface functionalization is carried out in paper devices to improve the sensitivity of detection assay as the surface treatments bring
certain changes/modifications in the physicochemical properties, thus surging their performances. Lipase was detected using (a) 4-nitrophenyl butyrate (PNPB), and (b) Indoxyl acetate, as a substrate. For α-amylase detection approaches are as follows, (i) Starch-povidone conjugate, and (ii) Starch-stabilized silver-copper nanoparticles (Ag-Cu NP). In all the above reactions, a swift change in color was observed immediately after the addition of enzymes. A good color gradient was observed in coated device compared to non-coated. All the above approaches showed good colorimetric demarcation from control when used with sera samples. The new sensing methods for pancreatic enzymes detection can be a potential point of care device for early screening for acute pancreatitis in low-resource settings or home users with abdominal pain.

Keywords: Paper-based devices, acute pancreatitis, lipase, α-amylase, colorimetric detection.