Gumus Abdurrahman, Lee Seoho, Ahsan Syed S, Karlsson Kolbeinn, Gabrielson Richard, Guglielmo Christopher G, Winkler David W, Erickson David
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States of America.
Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2015 Apr 16;10(4):e0123947. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0123947. eCollection 2015.
The metabolism of birds is finely tuned to their activities and environments, and thus research on avian systems can play an important role in understanding organismal responses to environmental changes. At present, however, the physiological monitoring of bird metabolism is limited by the inability to take real-time measurements of key metabolites during flight. In this study, we present an implantable biosensor system that can be used for continuous monitoring of uric acid levels of birds during various activities including flight. The system consists of a needle-type enzymatic biosensor for the amperometric detection of uric acid in interstitial fluids. A lightweight two-electrode potentiostat system drives the biosensor, reads the corresponding output current and wirelessly transfers the data or records to flash memory. We show how the device can be used to monitor, in real time, the effects of short-term flight and rest cycles on the uric acid levels of pigeons. In addition, we demonstrate that our device has the ability to measure uric acid level increase in homing pigeons while they fly freely. Successful application of the sensor in migratory birds could open up a new way of studying birds in flight which would lead to a better understanding of the ecology and biology of avian movements.
鸟类的新陈代谢与它们的活动和环境高度协调，因此对鸟类系统的研究在理解生物体对环境变化的反应方面可以发挥重要作用。然而，目前鸟类新陈代谢的生理监测受到飞行过程中无法实时测量关键代谢物的限制。在本研究中，我们展示了一种可植入的生物传感器系统，该系统可用于在包括飞行在内的各种活动期间连续监测鸟类的尿酸水平。该系统由一个针型酶生物传感器组成，用于对间质液中的尿酸进行安培检测。一个轻型双电极恒电位仪系统驱动生物传感器，读取相应的输出电流，并将数据无线传输或记录到闪存中。我们展示了该设备如何用于实时监测短期飞行和休息周期对鸽子尿酸水平的影响。此外，我们证明我们的设备有能力在信鸽自由飞行时测量其尿酸水平的升高。该传感器在候鸟中的成功应用可能会开辟一种研究飞行中鸟类的新方法，从而更好地理解鸟类运动的生态学和生物学。
