Development of an integrated smartphone-nanosensor platform for onsite biomonitoring of exposure to pesticides

Abstract Organophosphate (OP) pesticides poisoning is a worldwide environmental and occupational health concern due to their neurotoxicity. Rapid and accurate detection of personal exposures to these pesticides is critical to both research and clinical care for patients. However, their detection is still highly variable across commercial assays and these assays are not able to adequately detect low but clinically relevant levels of biomarkers of these exposures. Furthermore, these assays are generally performed in centralized laboratories and therefore are costly and have a long turnaround time. These shortcomings translate into missed opportunities for timely initiation of the most appropriate treatment and interventions for acutely or chronically poisoned patients. To address these shortcomings, more sensitive and accurate biomonitoring tools are needed. Development of such tools is well aligned with the mission of NIEHS. This STTR phase II project aims to further develop an integrated nanosensor-smartphone platform for onsite rapid and sensitive detection of OP exposure with a tiny drop of finger-stick blood. Because Phase I has soundly demonstrated the feasibility of the technology, we aim to continue developing it through Phase II to the extent that the technology could be commercialized. Specifically, we will: 1) < further develop a multiplex sensing platform for simultaneous and accurate measurement of pesticide exposure biomarkers acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase from a tiny drop of finger-stick blood and further evaluate the analytical performance of this multiplex nanosensing platform with more OP pesticides, achieving an efficient sensing platform for onsite rapid screening / assessment of OP exposure and poisoning; 2) further develop the current primitive mobile app to achieve multifunctionality including multiplex sensing data processing and analyzing, results display, data storage and management, data sharing with professionals, and education of users. > 3) carry out a comprehensive validation of the nanosensor-smartphone platform in the field. We anticipate that accomplishing these three aims will lead to an affordable and commercializable nanosensing platform that will be sufficiently accurate and sensitive for rapid point-of-care biomonitoring of exposure to OP pesticides. It could be used at home, in the field, physician’s office, bedside, and emergency room or for remote testing.