Paper-Based Optode Devices (PODs) for Selective Quantification of Potassium in Biological Fluids

This paper describes the design, fabrication, and feasibility of paper-based optode devices (PODs) for sensing potassium selectively in biological fluids. PODs operate in exhaustive mode and integrate with a handheld, smartphone-connected optical reader. This integrated measuring system provides significant advantages over traditional optode membranes and other paper-based designs, by obtaining a linear optical response to potassium concentration via a simple, stackable design and by harnessing a smartphone to provide an easy-to-use interface, thus enabling remote monitoring of diseases.