New Delhi, April 23 || A team of interdisciplinary researchers at the Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST) in Guwahati, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), has developed an optical sensing platform for cholesterol detection, based on silk fibre functionalised using phosphorene quantum dots, it was announced on Wednesday.
A point-of-care (POC) device has been developed in the laboratory scale for detecting cholesterol using this, according to a Ministry of Science & Technology statement.
It can sense cholesterol in trace amounts, even below the preferred range. It can be an efficient tool for routine monitoring of cholesterol levels in the human body.
The platform developed for cholesterol detection can help identify early symptoms of diseases like atherosclerosis, venous thrombosis, cardiovascular diseases, heart disease, myocardial infarction, hypertension, and cancer.
The project, led by Neelotpal Sen Sarma, a retired professor; Dr Asis Bala, an Associate Professor; and Nasrin Sultana, a DST INSPIRE Senior Research Fellow incorporated the material – the silk fibre -- into a cellulose nitrate membrane to create an electrical sensing platform for cholesterol detection.
The synthesised sensors were highly sensitive as well as selective for cholesterol detection. Furthermore, the electrical sensing platform generates no e-waste, a key advantage of the fabricated device.