Team 27

A Novel, Hand-Held, Fast, Small Volume Blood Diagnostic Device to Correlate Biomarkers with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease

Team Members:

Haley Ellis
Jason Mayo
Sean Stanek
Jennifer Wong

Team Mentor:
Dr. Jessica Weaver - Arizona State University

Dr. Apollo Arquiza - Arizona State University

Dr. Nicole Herbots - Alzheimer Bio-Sensors/Arizona State University

YouTube Link:
View the video link below before joining the zoom meeting

Zoom Link:
https://asu.zoom.us/j/86470513072

Abstract

Nearly 44 million people worldwide suffer from Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), a progressive, neurodegenerative disease that destroys memories and critical brain functions. Early detection during the Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) phase as a precursor leading to AD is critical as there are no cures when AD fully develops, only symptomatic treatments and therapies. Currently, AD diagnostic methods are very limited. There are no standardized nor portable devices on the market to measure methylglyoxal (MGO), which is a limitation to assess its potential in treating AD. Hence, the present work aims to prototype a novel, hand-held, fast, inexpensive, and accurate Small Volume Blood Diagnostics (SVBD) device, Alz-BioSs™, to test for the presence MCI leading to AD via MGO levels and help monitor the impact of treatments on a regular basis. MGO is a biomarker of interest because of the role that MGO, or any MGO-derived advanced glycation end products, play in the pathogenesis of AD. Semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO), also known as vascular adhesion protein-1 (VAP-1) is expressed in vascularized tissues, including the brain; furthermore, the presence of SSAO/VAP-1 enzyme has been found in the brains of AD patients. SSAO/VAP-1 is responsible for the conversion of proteins into MGO; therefore, MGO could measure vascularized brain tissue, a common symptom of both MCI and AD. Alz-BioSs™ measures MGO in blood plasma by collecting a 0.5 mL blood drop into a single-use microfluidic chip for rapid, passive separation of plasma from blood. Extracted 0.2-0.3 mL plasma then reacts into an adjacent chip coated with bio-reagent o-phenylenediamine (OPD) and gold nanoparticles (AuNP). The resulting colorimetric reaction is detected via a multiple use miniature optical cage system (OCS) using 520 nm LEDs and photodetectors to quantify MGO levels via photo-absorption.