Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder with adverse health effects that impact a person’s quality of life. Early diagnosis is important to mitigate these adverse health effects. The current standard of diagnosis is with the sweat test, by testing the concentration of chloride ions present in sweat. A patient with a positive diagnosis has 60 mmol/L of salt in sweat, while a negative diagnosis has 30 mmol/L or less of salt in sweat. This research focuses on an alternative diagnostic method utilizing the fluoresce of polarity sensitive dyes (PSD), chloride ionophore, and polymer matrix; Nile Red and Nile Blue were selected as PSDs. We observed the fluoresce of the PSDs in various environmental conditions to determine the viability of this diagnostic method and determine if this system can detect a difference between 30 and 60 mmol/L of chloride ions. The measured change of Nile Red and Nile Blue fluoresce has strong potential for clinical applications. PSDs fluoresce could be used to develop a diagnostic device with a rapid and minimally intrusive ion detection mechanism.

Utilizing fluoresce of polarity sensitive dyes as alternative diagnostic method for cystic fibrosis

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.