Speaker
Description
Abstract: The sodium-to-potassium (Na+/K+) ratio serves as an important biomarker with relevance to electrolyte balance, renal health, hypertension, and metabolic and inflammatory conditions. Non-invasive body fluids offer practical routes for assessing the Na⁺/K⁺ ratio in point-of-care applications. Traditional methods for measuring Na⁺ and K⁺ such as flame photometry, ion-selective electrodes, and ICP-based techniques, are costly and confined to laboratory settings, making them unsuitable for rapid and point-of-care testing. We present a portable, low-cost, smartphone-integrated paper-based ion-selective fluorescence optode for quantitative detection of the Na⁺/K⁺ ratio. The sensing platform utilizes BODIPY-based fluorescent paper strips with two spatially separated sensing zones exhibiting high selectivity for Na⁺ and K⁺. Fluorescence emissions from the two zones is recorded by a smartphone using a customized 3D-printed optical aseembly. Preliminary observations demonstrate the sensing system’s high specificity for Na⁺ and K⁺ with rapid detection, providing an accessible, user-friendly platform for clinical monitoring.
