Cass Anthony E G, Sharma Sanjiv
Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Methods Enzymol. 2017;589:413-427. doi: 10.1016/bs.mie.2017.02.002. Epub 2017 Mar 7.
Microneedle enzyme sensors by virtue of their minimally invasive and hence pain-free penetration of skin allow for the measurement of metabolites, biomarkers, and drugs in the interstitial fluid that bathes the dermal tissue. Such devices if they are to be adopted widely into clinical practice need to be capable of delivering reliable measurements over extended periods of time (days) and to be fabricated by low-cost, scalable methods. Using injection molding of the base structures in polycarbonate, metal film deposition by sputtering and enzyme immobilization by electrodeposition can meet these requirements. The workflow to produce devices for clinical evaluation is then completed by sterilization and packaging. In vitro evaluation of the sensors' response to varying analyte concentrations and their mechanical testing establish performance and safety characteristics. While most of the work is focused on glucose sensing, reflecting the significance of the global diabetes "epidemic," the microneedles can also be used to measure lactate (another metabolite) and theophylline (a therapeutic drug).
微针酶传感器因其对皮肤的微创且无痛穿透，能够测量浸润真皮组织的间质液中的代谢物、生物标志物和药物。此类设备若要广泛应用于临床实践，需能够在较长时间（数天）内提供可靠测量结果，并且要通过低成本、可扩展的方法制造。利用聚碳酸酯中基础结构的注塑成型、溅射法进行金属膜沉积以及电沉积法进行酶固定化，可以满足这些要求。然后通过灭菌和包装完成用于临床评估的设备生产工作流程。对传感器对不同分析物浓度的响应进行体外评估及其机械测试，确定其性能和安全特性。虽然大部分工作集中在葡萄糖传感上，这反映了全球糖尿病“流行”的重要性，但微针也可用于测量乳酸（另一种代谢物）和茶碱（一种治疗药物）。
