What is it about?
We developed a cavity (called waveguide) that is a micron thick film of a sugar gel with pores to which a colourless substrate is chemically attached. The enzyme acts upon the substrate to form a coloured product. The coloured product changes the optical transmission of the cavity. We measured the optical transmission to determine the enzyme activity.
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Why is it important?
Measurement of enzyme activity is important for assessing individuals' health, environmental analysis and increasing production efficiency of many industries. Our gel cavity allows measuring low levels of enzyme activity in small sample volumes, rapidly and affordably.
Perspectives
The lowest level of enzyme activity that is measurable is strongly influenced by size of the pores in sugar gel. We are currently developing robust gels with tailorable pore size and connectivity.
Dr Ruchi Gupta
University of Birmingham
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: A proof-of-principle study for performing enzyme bioassays using substrates immobilized in a leaky optical waveguide, Sensors and Actuators B Chemical, June 2017, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.snb.2017.01.053.
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