Textile-based non-invasive lithium drug monitoring: A proof-of-concept study for wearable sensing.

Flexible wearable chemical sensors are emerging tools which target diagnosis and monitoring of medical conditions. One of the potential applications of wearable chemical sensors is therapeutic drug monitoring for drugs that have a narrow therapeutic range such as lithium. We have investigated the possibility of developing a fibre-based device for non-invasive lithium drug monitoring in interstitial fluid. A flexible cotton-based lithium sensor was coupled with a carbon fibre-based reference electrode to obtain a potentiometric device. In vitro reverse iontophoresis experiments were performed to extract Li+ from under porcine skin by applying a current density of 0.4 mA cm-2 via two electrodes. Carbon fibre-based reverse iontophoresis electrodes were fabricated and used instead of a conventional silver wire-based version and comparable results were obtained. The fibre-based Li+ sensor and reference electrodes were capable of determining the Li+ concentration in samples collected via reverse iontophoresis and the results compared well to those obtained by ion chromatography. Additionally, biocompatibility of the materials used have been tested. Promising results were obtained which confirm the possibility of monitoring lithium in interstitial fluid using a wearable sensor.

Fabrication and Optimization of Fiber-Based Lithium Sensor: A Step toward Wearable Sensors for Lithium Drug Monitoring in Interstitial Fluid.

A miniaturized, flexible fiber-based lithium sensor was fabricated from low-cost cotton using a simple, repeatable dip-coating technique. This lithium sensor is highly suited for ready-to-use wearable applications and can be used directly without the preconditioning steps normally required with traditional ion-selective electrodes. The sensor has a stable, rapid, and accurate response over a wide Li+ concentration range that spans over the clinically effective and the toxic concentration limits for lithium in human serum. The sensor is selective to Li+ in human plasma even in the presence of a high concentration of Na+ ions. This novel sensor concept represents a significant advance in wearable sensor technology which will target lithium drug monitoring from under the skin.

Development and validation of a stability-indicating micellar liquid chromatographic method for the determination of timolol maleate in the presence of its degradation products.

A stability-indicating micellar liquid chromatographic (MLC) method was developed and validated for the quantitative determination of timolol maleate (TM) in the presence of its degradation products resulting from accelerated degradation in a run time not more than 8 min. TM was subjected to stress conditions of hydrolysis (including alkaline, acidic and thermal hydrolysis) and oxidation. An isocratic, rapid and mobile phase saving the micellar LC method was developed with a BioBasic phenyl column (150 × 1.0 mm, 5 µm particle size) and a micellar mobile phase composed of 0.1 M sodium dodecyl sulfate, 10% of 1-propanol and 0.1% of triethylamine in 0.035 M ortho-phosphoric acid. The flow rate of the mobile phase was 0.1 mL/min. UV detection was adjusted at 298 nm and performed at room temperature. The method has been validated according to the International Conference on Harmonisation guidelines. The method is successfully applied for the determination of TM in bulk powder and pharmaceutical dosage form.