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Paper-based device for the colorimetric assay of bilirubin based on in-situ formation of gold nanoparticles

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Abstract

A paper-based colorimetric assay for the determination of bilirubin has been developed. The method is based on the in-situ reduction of chloroauric acid to form gold nanoparticles. A chromatographic paper was patterned using a wax printer. Chloroauric acid was drop-cast onto the reagent zone. In the presence of bilirubin, gold(III) ions are reduced and form gold nanoparticles. This leads to a color change from yellow to purple. The intensity of the purple color (peak at 530 nm) increases with bilirubin concentration in the 5.0 to 1000 mg L−1 range. The detection limit is 1.0 mg L−1. For the quantification of bilirubin, images were captured using a digital camera, and data were processed with the help of machine learning-based supervised prediction using Random Forest classification. The method was applied to the determination of bilirubin in urine samples. The spiked urine samples exhibit more than 95% recovery.

Schematic representation of the paper-based colorimetric assay for the detection of bilirubin based on the in-situ formation of gold nanoparticles. A color band is generated for visual interpretation and used for the testing of bilirubin in urine.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India for financial support (Sanction no. 102/IFD/SAN/2238/2016-17 dated 30-8-2016).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Amrita Biosensor Research Lab, Amrita School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore, 641112, India

    Resmi P. Edachana & Satheesh Babu Thekkedath Gopalakrishnan

  2. Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Amrita School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore, 641112, India

    Abishek Kumaresan & Vidhya Balasubramanian

  3. Department of Sciences, Amrita School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore, 641112, India

    Ramachandran Thiagarajan & Satheesh Babu Thekkedath Gopalakrishnan

  4. Amrita School of Biotechnology, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri, 690525, India

    Bipin G. Nair

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  1. Resmi P. Edachana
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  2. Abishek Kumaresan
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  6. Satheesh Babu Thekkedath Gopalakrishnan
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Correspondence to Satheesh Babu Thekkedath Gopalakrishnan.

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Edachana, R.P., Kumaresan, A., Balasubramanian, V. et al. Paper-based device for the colorimetric assay of bilirubin based on in-situ formation of gold nanoparticles. Microchim Acta 187, 60 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-019-4051-z

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