Introduction

Scientific enquiries have linked oxidative stress to various diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and male infertility. Biological fluids (saliva, blood, sweat and urine) thus have an important diagnostic potential, reflecting the physiological state of the affected individual. In recent years, several colorimetric tests based on the use of platinum nanoparticles have been developed for the detection of DNA, tumour cells, metal ions, penicillin-based antibiotics, hydrogen peroxide, glucose, cholesterol, L-cysteine, proteins and antibodies. However, none of the currently available assays allows the antioxidant power to be assessed through a point-of-care, naked-eye determination, without the need of specific instrumentation.

Technical features

A point-of-care assay for determining the antioxidant power of biological and non-biological fluids has been developed. The method consists in contacting the sample to be tested with an aqueous solution of platinum nanoparticles, an oxidising agent, and a chromogenic peroxidase substrate, and detecting the colour of the final solution thus obtained. The colour intensity of the solution is proportional to the antioxidant power of the sample. The assay has important diagnostic potential, as it can be used for estimating the antioxidant capacity of saliva and other biological fluids such as blood, sweat and urine, thus reflecting the physiological state of the individual at the time of sample collection. Thanks to its versatile nature, this assay can also be used to measure the antioxidant capacity of non-biological samples, such as olive oil and fruits, making it suitable for quality control in the food manufacturing industry.

This technology is related to: DETERMINING THE ANTIOXIDANT POWER OF BIOLOGICAL FLUIDS VIA PALLADIUM NANOPARTICLES

 

Possible Applications

• Point-of-care devices in hospitals, care homes and private habitations;
• Quality control of foods and oils.

Advantages

• Invention can be fashioned into a portable kit;
• Simple, low cost and stable in ambient conditions;
• Ability to measure the sample directly without purification;
• Suitable for analysing a large pool of samples;
• Can measure both lipophilic and hydrophilic antioxidants.