Chinnappan Raja, Mir Tanveer Ahmad, Alsalameh Suliman, Makhzoum Tariq, Alzhrani Alaa, Al-Kattan Khaled, Yaqinuddin Ahmed
College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh 11533, Saudi Arabia.
Tissue/Organ Bioengineering & BioMEMS Lab, Organ Transplant Centre of Excellence, Transplant Research & Innovation Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh 11211, Saudi Arabia.
Diagnostics (Basel). 2023 Sep 16;13(18):2967. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics13182967.
Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) are important liver enzymes in clinical settings. Their levels are known to be elevated in individuals with underlying liver diseases and those consuming hepatotoxic drugs. Serum ALT and AST levels are crucial for diagnosing and assessing liver diseases. Serum ALT is considered the most reliable and specific candidate as a disease biomarker for liver diseases. ALT and AST levels are routinely analyzed in high-risk individuals for the bioanalysis of both liver function and complications associated with drug-induced liver injury. Typically, ALT and AST require blood sampling, serum separation, and testing. Traditional methods require expensive or sophisticated equipment and trained specialists, which is often time-consuming. Therefore, developing countries have limited or no access to these methods. To address the above issues, we hypothesize that low-cost biosensing methods (paper-based assays) can be applied to the analysis of ALT and AST levels in biological fluids. The paper-based biodetection technique can semi-quantitatively measure ALT and AST from capillary finger sticks, and it will pave the way for the development of an inexpensive and rapid alternative method for the early detection and diagnosis of liver diseases. This method is expected to significantly reduce the economic burden and aid routine clinical analysis in both developed and underdeveloped countries. The development of low-cost testing platforms and their diagnostic utility will be extremely beneficial in helping millions of patients with liver disorders.
丙氨酸转氨酶（ALT）和天冬氨酸转氨酶（AST）是临床中重要的肝脏酶。已知在患有潜在肝脏疾病的个体以及服用肝毒性药物的个体中，它们的水平会升高。血清ALT和AST水平对于诊断和评估肝脏疾病至关重要。血清ALT被认为是作为肝脏疾病生物标志物的最可靠和特异的候选指标。ALT和AST水平在高危个体中常规进行分析，用于肝功能以及与药物性肝损伤相关并发症的生物分析。通常，ALT和AST检测需要采血、血清分离和检测。传统方法需要昂贵或复杂的设备以及经过培训的专业人员，这往往很耗时。因此，发展中国家难以获得或无法获得这些方法。为了解决上述问题，我们假设低成本生物传感方法（基于纸的检测方法）可应用于生物体液中ALT和AST水平的分析。基于纸的生物检测技术可以通过手指毛细血管采血半定量测量ALT和AST，这将为开发一种用于肝脏疾病早期检测和诊断的廉价、快速的替代方法铺平道路。预计该方法将显著减轻经济负担，并有助于发达国家和不发达国家的常规临床分析。低成本检测平台的开发及其诊断效用对于帮助数百万肝脏疾病患者将极为有益。
