This article demonstrates a new smartphone-based reusable glucose meter. The glucose meter includes a custom-built smartphone case that houses a permanent bare sensor strip, a stylus that is loaded with enzyme-carbon composite pellets, and sensor instrumentation circuits. A custom-designed Android-based software application was developed to enable easy and clear display of measured glucose concentration. A typical test involves the user loading the software, using the stylus to dispense an enzymatic pellet on top of the bare sensor strip affixed to the case, and then introducing the sample. The electronic module then acquires and wirelessly transmits the data to the application software to be displayed on the screen. The deployed pellet is then discarded to regain the fresh bare sensor surface. Such a unique working principle allows the system to overcome challenges faced by previously reported reusable sensors, such as enzyme degradation, leaching, and hysteresis effects. Studies reveal that the enzyme loaded in the pellets are stable for up to 8 months at ambient conditions, and generate reproducible sensor signals. The work illustrates the significance of the pellet-based sensing system towards realizing a reusable, point-of-care sensor that snugly fits around a smartphone and which does not face issues usually common to reusable sensors. The versatility of this system allows it to be easily modified to detect other analytes for application in a wide range of healthcare, environmental and defense domains.
Participants with breast implants are less likely to establish breastfeeding, especially exclusive breastfeeding. Periareolar incision does not appear to reduce the exclusive breastfeeding rate.
Recently,
researchers found the abilities of cepharanthine (CEP)
to prevent and treat coronavirus. However, the study about CEP solid
forms has been rarely reported. In this study, the crystal structure
of CEP form I was first solved, and eight solvates were screened and
discovered based on the conductor-like screening model for real solvents.
The crystal structures of five solvates of CEP with methanol (SMeOH), acetonitrile (SACN), methyl acetate (SMA), ethyl acetate (SEA), and butyl acetate (SBA) were solved. The results showed that five solvates belonged
to isolated-site solvates. Hydrogen bonding between the solvent molecule
and the active pharmaceutical ingredient molecule was present only
in SMeOH. The remaining four solvates formed C–H···O
weak hydrogen bonds and C–H···π interactions
between the host and guest. The mechanism of solvate formation was
explained by calculating the packing coefficients, and it was proved
that the introduction of solvent molecules mainly made the crystal
structure packed more effectively. In addition, the desolvation of
the five solvates were studied and found that the desolvation of SMeOH followed a cooperative mechanism, while SACN, SMA, SEA, and SBA conformed to
a destruction-collapse mechanism.
Practical applications of flexible crystals are often limited due to their monotonous property. In this study, multi-stimuli-responsive crystals of isonicotinamide (INA), which astoundingly respond to all mechanical force, heat and...
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