Disposable Low Cost Sensor for Periodontal Disease
Lead Research Organisation:
Queen Mary University of London
Department Name: Materials
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Publications
Stair JL
(2009)
Sensor materials for the detection of proteases.
in Biosensors & bioelectronics
| Description | Periodontal diseases are inflammatory conditions that affect the supporting tissues of teeth and can lead to destruction of the bone support and ultimately tooth loss if untreated. The condition is treated locally by scaling and root planing and possibly chlorhexidine-impregnated chips held in the periodontal pocket. Progression of periodontitis is usually site specific but is not uniform, and currently there are no accurate clinical methods for distinguishing sites where there is active disease progression from sites that are quiescent. As a result a lot of unnecessary and costly treatment of periodontal sites that are not progressing occurs, potentially causing additional damage to the tooth attachment. This project was aimed at the development of a generic low cost non-invasive sensor system capable of more accurately identifying periods of active inflammation, at the point of care. Three different proteases were identified as markers for periodontal disease to be detected by the sensor system under investigation. The main aim of this project was to show that hydrogel coatings can be tailored for the detection of different serine and matrix metalloproteinases. The objectives included the synthesis of generic sensor materials that can be adapted easily and quickly to detect different proteases by cross-linking hydrogels with short chain peptides, validation of the usefulness of the sensor system for monitoring periodontal inflammation, strengthening of existing IP for this sensor format and the approach of development partners of sensor components and dental companies. Sensor materials for two of the target proteases, human neutrophil elastase and cathepsin G, were successfully synthesised by cross-linking oxidised dextran with two different short chain peptides and monitoring their degradation using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). The degradation was shown to be concentration dependent. Good selectivity for the two target proteases was achieved by the choice of peptides used as crosslinkers thereby confirming the generic nature of the sensor materials developed. As both target proteases were detected in the relevant clinical range for periodontal disease, the usefulness of the sensor materials for monitoring this condition was shown. The experimental results were used to strengthen an existing patent application describing the sensor materials and published in Biosensors and Bioelectronics. |
| Exploitation Route | The sensor technology developed in this project is generic and can be adapted easily for the detection of other proteases. Potential applications include the monitoring of MMP-9 in patients with multiple sclerosis and the measurement of coagulation factors. |
| Sectors | Healthcare,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |