As you have already read from the previous blogs, within the Nutrieshield project has been developed a stunning laser-based urine analyser which allows to perform urine analysis without using reagents and bulky instruments. What you may don’t know is that in parallel with this device at CSEM facilities it has been developed a miniaturised electrochemical sensor for measuring pH in urine. At this point you may wonder: why another device to analyse urine ?

The answer is quite simple, the laser urine analyser needs a special treatment of the samples before being analysed which changes the samples pH (read more in the previous blog : Method Development for NUTRISHIELD Human Milk and Urine Analyser). Furthermore, due to the small volume sample availability for infants, a miniaturized solution was necessary. For those reason CSEM was asked to develop a custom-made laboratory-based and portable system (sensor + reader) for detecting pH in urine. Such a device adds value to the project due to:

• Low-cost pH sensors
• Fast response time (3-5 minutes per sample)
• Small urine volume (50-100 µl) required for testing,
• The electrochemical readout system can be easily connected to a laptop and integrated to the IT NUTRISHIELD platform
• The electrochemical detection technology can, if needed, be adapted for monitoring other clinically relevant biomarkers (e.g., glucose, uric acid, sodium, and potassium ions).
• Multiple urines analysis (6 urines per times)
• User-friendly Graphical user interface

In the NUTRISHIELD project the synergies between the members is focused to give tailored nutrition advice to the population. In this way obesity and related diseases can be reduces and proper nutrition in the early stages of infant given. Concerning the pH in urine, usually normal values go from 4.8 to 8.0 and unusual pH values is the first symptom of something not working properly in our body such as:

• Kidney failure
• Urinary tract infection
• Diabetic

Thus, within the Nutrishield project, a rapid and accurate sensor able to be quantitatively measures pH in urine was developed, in parallel with its own reader, and made suitable with the NUTRISHIELD’s Dashboard and Backend System (see previous blog on it).