Paper-based chemometer device for the estimation of α-amylase—a biomarker for pancreatitis

Abstract

Pancreatitis is a life-threatening inflammatory disease of the pancreas. In 2019, 34.8 out of 100 000 people suffered from acute pancreatitis globally. In humans, the level of α-amylase increases three times the normal value during pancreatitis. α-Amylase is an enzyme that hydrolyses α-1,4 glycosidic bonds of starch. In this study, we investigated a novel distance-based sensing method. We exploited the existing starch triiodide method, where the blue colour of starch-triiodide fades away and becomes colourless when α-amylase breaks the starch chain at the α-1-4 glycosidic bond. A hydrophilic channel was made on paper using a simple laser printer to create hydrophobic barriers. This channel was impregnated with starch triiodide, where α-amylase can turn it colourless. This distance covered by the change in colour is directly proportional to the concentration of α-amylase in a sample. Simulated samples with different concentrations of porcine α-amylase and pancreatin were used for testing using the developed paper-based chemometer device. The paper-based chemometer device was also tested with artificial blood serum with different concentrations of α-amylase. The R² of this device was found to be 0.9905, and the accuracy of the device when compared with a 2-chloro-4-nitrophenyl-α-D-maltotrioside method was found to be 95.54% with a sensitivity of 0.131 U L⁻¹ mm⁻¹. Correlation test also showed that the paper-based chemometer device for α-amylase can be used as a testing device for artificial blood serum. This is a preliminary investigation that shows promising results. The chemometer devices stored in air-tight packets at 4–8 °C in a refrigerator did not lose the colour intensity until day 90 and retained an accuracy of 94.5%. However, the device needs to be evaluated in clinical settings prior to using it for measuring α-amylase in patients.