A Spectrofluorometric Method for Real-Time Graft Assessment and Patient Monitoring

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Clinical Diagnostics
• Point-of-Care Testing

Background:

• Biomarker measurement is crucial for clinical diagnostics and predicting patient outcomes.
• Current methods require time and expensive equipment, limiting real-time applications, especially in operating rooms.
• Rapid changes in biomarkers are difficult to track with traditional laboratory analyses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a portable spectrophotometric device for continuous, real-time measurement of biomarkers at the point of care.
• To assess the utility of the device in evaluating human liver grafts for transplantation.
• To demonstrate the device's potential for monitoring patients, such as those undergoing dialysis.

Main Methods:

• Development of a portable spectrophotometric device for real-time biomarker quantification.
• Measurement of flavin mononucleotide (FMN), a mitochondrial damage biomarker, in human liver grafts during hypothermic oxygenated perfusion.
• Real-time monitoring of creatinine levels in dialysis patients.

Main Results:

• The device successfully measured flavin mononucleotide (FMN) in human liver grafts.
• Real-time FMN data identified seven unsuitable liver grafts that were discarded prior to transplantation.
• Post-transplant liver function and patient recovery correlated with pre-transplant FMN values.

Conclusions:

• The portable device offers a simple method for direct biomarker monitoring in biological fluids.
• This technology can significantly improve organ assessment, guiding clinical decisions and reducing transplant failures.
• The approach enhances patient care and facilitates new biomarker discovery through real-time data acquisition.