Quicker diagnoses of neural disorders possible with new dopamine biosensor.

University of Central Florida researchers have developed a compact dopamine biosensor that they hope could facilitate quicker diagnosis of some cancers, depression and Parkinson’s disease. It uses microfluidics to separate plasma from a few drops of a patient’s blood which is then passed over a sensor coated in cerium oxide nanoparticles that selectively capture microscopic levels of dopamine. This changes how light is reflected from the sensor, and by measuring the variation in light, the researchers can determine the dopamine levels in the blood. The researchers claim that results could be delivered in a matter of minutes or less, rather than hours as is currently the case.
Debashis Chanda, an associate professor in UCF’s NanoScience Technology Centre and the study’s principal investigator, said: “A neurotransmitter like dopamine is an important chemical to monitor for our overall well-being so we can help screen out neural disorders like Parkinson’s disease, various brain cancers, and monitor mental health. We need to monitor dopamine so that we can adjust our medical doses to help address those problems.”