Handmade Paper as a Paper Analytical Device for Determining the Quality of an Antidiabetic Drug

Abstract

Paper analytical devices (PADs) are a class of low-cost, portable, and easy-to-use platform for several analytical tests in clinical diagnostics, environmental pollution monitoring, and food and drug safety screening. These devices are primarily made from cellulosic paper. Considering the importance of eco-friendly and local or distributed manufacturing of devices realized during the COVID-19 pandemic, we systematically studied the potential of handmade Nepali paper to be used in fabricating PADs in this work. We characterized five different handmade papers made from locally available plant fibers using an eco-friendly method and used them to fabricate PADs for determining the drug quality. The thickness, grammage, and apparent density of the paper samples ranged from 198.6 to 314.8 μm, 49.1 to 117.8 g/m 2 , and 0.23 to 0.43 g/cm 3 , respectively. The moisture content, water filtration, and wicking speed ranged from 5.8 to 7.1%, 35.7 to 156.7, and 0.062 to 0.124 mms –1 , respectively. Furthermore, the water contact angle and porosity ranged from 76.6 to 112.1° and 79 to 83%, respectively. The best paper sample (P5) was chosen to fabricate PADs for the determination of metformin, an antidiabetic drug. The metformin assay on PADs followed a linear range from 0.0625 to 0.5 mg/mL. The assay had a limit of detection and limit of quantitation of 0.05 and 0.18 mg/mL, respectively. The average amount of metformin concentration in samples collected from local pharmacies ( n = 20) was 465.6 ± 15.1 mg/tablet. When compared with the spectrophotometric method, PAD assay correctly predicted the concentration of 90% samples. The PAD assay on handmade paper may provide a low-cost and easy-to-use system for screening the quality of drugs and other point-of-need applications.

Simple colorimetric paper-based test strip for point-of-use quality testing of ethanol-based hand sanitizers

“…Colorimetric paper-based analytical devices (PADs), including dipstick test strips and lateral ow assays, have recently emerged to enable rapid, real-time, equipment-free, and inexpensive on-site lab-quality detection and even quanti-cation of different chemical species. 21,22 Using PADs, analyte concentration can be determined either through a reference color index (e.g. pH indicator strips) 23 or smartphone-based detection.…”

A Hypothetical Approach to Concentrate Microorganisms from Human Urine Samples Using Paper-Based Adsorbents for Point-of-Care Molecular Assays

“…Recently, there has been a growing interest and importance surrounding microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (µPADs) and microfluidic thread-based analytical devices (µTADs) for the detection of pathogen biomarkers [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20], food adulterants [21][22][23], and chemical analyte detection [24]. These devices focus on the unique properties of paper such as uniform thickness, high hygroscopicity, optimal wicking, desirable flow rates, consistent fluid flow, efficient sample absorption, and reliable analyte transportation [25]. Furthermore, paper can be easily modified and functionalized with specific chemicals or coatings, allowing for selective detection of disease-specific biomarkers or pathogens through visual color changes or other readout methods [24].…”

Concentrating Microbes from Human Urine Samples Using Paper-Based Adsorbents for Point-of-Care Molecular Assays

“…Recently, there has been a growing interest and importance surrounding Microfluidic Paperbased Analytical Devices (µPADs) and Microfluidic Thread-based Analytical Devices (µTADs) for the detection of pathogen biomarkers [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20], food adulterants [21][22][23] and chemical analyte detection [24]. These devices focus on the unique properties of paper such as uniform thickness, high hygroscopicity, optimal wicking, desirable flow rates, consistent fluid flow, efficient sample absorption, and reliable analyte transportation [25]. Furthermore, paper can be easily modified and functionalized with specific chemicals or coatings, allowing for selective detection of disease specific biomarkers or pathogens through visual color changes or other readout methods [26].…”