New Test to Detect Acute Pancreatitis

Univerity of Texas Scientists have developed a faster, cheaper biosensor that aids in the detection of acute pancreatitis.

Univerity of Texas scientists have developed a faster, cheaper biosensor that aids in the detection of acute pancreatitis.

The sensor, which could be produced for as little as a dollar, could help prevent damage from acute pancreatitis- a sudden inflammation of the pancreas that can lead to severe stomach pain, nausea, fever, shock and in some cases, death.

Pancreatitis
Pancreatitis or inflammation of the pancreas may show up as acute pancreatitis or chronic pain. Alcohol consumption is the main offender. Treatment requires hospitalization and at times surgery.

It is built with a 12-cent LED light, aluminum foil, gelatin, milk protein and a few other cheap, easily obtainable materials.

"We've turned Reynold's Wrap, JELL-O and milk into a way to look for organ failure," said Brian Zaccheo, a graduate student in the lab of Richard Crooks, professor of chemistry and biochemistry.

The sensor, which is about the size of a matchbox, relies on a simple two-step process to diagnose the disease.

Quiz on Pancreas
Pancreas is both an endocrine and an exocrine organ. It secretes insulin, which is required for sugar breakdown. To learn more about the unique functions of the pancreas, engage in the following quiz.

In step one, a bit of blood extract is dropped onto a layer of gelatin and milk protein. If there are high levels of trypsin, an enzyme that is overabundant in the blood of patients with acute pancreatitis, the trypsin will break down the gelatin in much the same way it breaks down proteins in the stomach.

In step two, a drop of sodium hydroxide (lye) is added. If the trypsin levels were high enough to break down that first barrier, the sodium hydroxide can trickle down to the second barrier, a strip of Reynold's wrap, and go to work dissolving it.

New Insight into Acute Pancreatitis
New findings by the researchers can keep acute pancreatitis, a common disease of the pancreas at bay.

The foil corrodes, and with both barriers now permeable, a circuit is able to form between a magnesium anode and an iron salt at the cathode. Enough current is generated to light up a red LED. If the LED lights up within an hour, acute pancreatitis is diagnosed.

"In essence, the device is a battery having a trypsin-selective switch that closes the circuit between the anode and cathode," wrote Zaccheo and Crooks.

Alcohol Not the Main Cause of Chronic Pancreatitis
The relative rate of chronic pancreatitis (CP) is lower when compared to other causes, revealed in a study.

The discovery was published in Analytical Chemistry.

Source-ANI