Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39868883›Full record

ArticleAnalytical chemistry2025

A Droplet Microfluidic Sensor for Point-of-Care Measurement of Plasma/Serum Total Free Thiol Concentrations.

Liam Carter, Adrian Nightingale, Martin Feelisch, Xize Niu

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Analytical chemistry, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Liam CarterMechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, U.K.
Adrian NightingaleMechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, U.K.
Martin FeelischPerioperative and Critical Care Theme, NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospital Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, U.K.
Xize NiuMechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, U.K.ORCID 0000-0003-3149-6152

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Total free thiols are an important marker of the whole-body redox state, which has been shown to be associated with clinical outcome in health and disease. Recent investigations have suggested that increased insight may be gained by monitoring alterations of redox state in response to exercise and hypoxia and to monitor redox trajectories in disease settings. However, conducting such studies is challenging due to the requirement for repeated venous blood sampling and intensive lab work. Droplet microfluidic sensors offer an alternative platform for developing a point-of-care testing approach using small sample volumes and automated systems to complement or ultimately replace laboratory testing. Here we developed a small, portable droplet microfluidic sensor that can measure total free thiol concentrations in 20 μL human plasma (or serum) samples, providing a reading in less than 10 min. This system features a novel method to enhance the mixing of reagent and analyte in droplets containing viscous biological fluids. The results in a range of real-world human plasma samples showed equivalence with current standard laboratory assays while reducing sample volume requirements 9-fold and fully automating the process. Micro hematocrit capillaries allowed testing of capillary blood samples collected by fingerprick lancing. The system was used to monitor total free thiols using fingerprick samples in healthy volunteers and revealed significant changes in total free thiols in response to food intake and exercise. This device has the potential to improve our ability to conduct physiological studies of total free thiol level changes and improve our understanding of redox physiology, which may ultimately be applied in redox medicine to improve patient care.

Indexed as

Lab-On-A-Chip DevicesMicrofluidic Analytical TechniquesPoint-of-Care SystemsSulfhydryl CompoundsHumansSulfhydryl Compounds

Identifiers

PMID39868883
PMCPMC11822743

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.