Researchers from Vigo design contact lenses that allow the collection and analysis of tear samples to detect diseases | Present

Vigo

Researchers at the Biomedical Research Center (Cinbio) of the University of Vigo (UVigo) have designed contact lenses that allow the collection and analysis of tear biomarkers for the detection of diseases.

As reported by the Diario de la Universidade de Vigo (Duvi), the chemical analysis of human tears has gained great importance in recent years because it can help diagnose diseases such as breast cancer, multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s. .

However, the collection of the necessary dead bodies can only be carried out by qualified health personnel, as there are obstacles related to the comfort of the patients. In addition, they are samples of short duration, approximately 5 minutes, which can lead to a problem in terms of the sensitivity of the analysis.

“In addition, the sample obtained must be subjected to a series of physical and chemical procedures before analysis, procedures that not only add a greater degree of complexity and cost to the process, but can also alter the physiological values ​​of the sample, in certain cases adulterating the results”, they have explained from the UVigo.

For this reason, researchers from the Cinbio TeamNanoTech have presented an innovative detection strategy, hybrid lenses that allow the collection and analysis of tear biomarkers for the diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring of different diseases.

This scientific advance is reflected in a study published in the journal ‘Nanoscale’, which is signed by the director of Cinbio, Miguel A. Correa-Duarte, as well as by the researchers of said center Moisés Pérez-Lorenzo, Andrea Mariño-López and Belén Vaz, in addition to the researcher Ramón A. Álvarez-Puebla from the Rovira i Virgili University of Tarragona.

As they have explained, the extraction of tear samples is carried out in health centers by specialized personnel, but this work aims to open the door to the development of ocular devices that allow this collection to be carried out outside the clinical environment.

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