A portable device to measure blood hemoglobin

A new, portable, low cost, and easy to use device can now test hemoglobin content in a single drop of blood in less than 30 seconds. In a conventional set up to measure hemoglobin, a clinician is required to draw blood with a needle, which is then transported to a lab, where test results are accessible to a doctor after almost 4 hours.

The new device can measure hemoglobin with a single drop of blood, which can be taken by pricking the finger with a needle in the clinic itself. The device is cost effective and measures hemoglobin with high sensitivity and specificity. It is important to measure hemoglobin because its low amounts confirm anemia, which during pregnancy increases the risk for preterm delivery.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore in collaboration with scientists from PathShodh Healthcare, Anand Diagnostics Laboratory, and Samatvam Diabetes Endocrinology Centre, Bangalore have published their results in the high impact journal Nature Scientific Reports.

“The device is expected to have a big impact on public health for the diagnosis of anemia, especially in underdeveloped countries of the world”, say scientists. According to the WHO global database, almost 58% of pregnant women in India are anemic, which accounts for 20–40% of maternal deaths. Since the newly developed device has no special storage or handling requirements, it can be used in rural settings as well.

The new device uses disposal strips for loading the drop of blood, eliminating the risk for diseases such as HIV. The device is based on two aza-heterocyclic compounds called pyridine and imidazole that help in the direct sensing of hemoglobin by the device. To date, the device has been tested on more than 100 clinical samples. The device can effectively measure hemoglobin in a range of 0.5 to 20.8 gram per deciliter blood in less than a minute. “This study represents a major step forward in realizing robust and scalable, direct electron transfer point of care Hemoglobin sensor utilizing aza-heterocyclic receptors”, claim scientists.

For Vigyan Prasar- Indian Science News and Features Service.

Reference: Scientific Reports 7: 42031.

Better Plastics

We have been using plastics for more than 100 years now. They seem to be irreplaceable because of long shelf life and high durability. Sadly, plastics pollute the environment because most plastics are non-biodegradable and cannot be managed by recycling. A ban on plastics could be a short-term solution but bioplastics will perhaps be a longer-term solution. However, bioplastics are costly, have lower strength and higher water absorption.

Researchers at IIT Kanpur have improved bioplastics by changing a method of cross-linking them. Cross-linking is the same method that hardens rubber; the more bonds a plastic has, the more its strength and durability. The new method uses easy-to-get, eco-friendly and water soluble citric acid as the cross-linker for agarose. The research team has filed a patent to claim exclusive rights for using and selling the method because it is new and useful.

Reference: Carbohydrate Polymers 151: 60-67

Published- Current Science. 

Weeds to Weed out Bacteria

A wonder drug of its time, Penicillin, was accidentally discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928 from a mold that killed bacteria. It soon became popular as it cured deadly infections. But in a few decades, it became ineffective as bacteria became drug resistant. Finding new antibiotics has become a continuous challenge for scientists.

Researchers in the Cochin University of Science and Technology have now isolated new antimicrobials from six species of seaweeds from the coasts of Kerala, as crude water-soluble extracts. They found that these antimicrobials are phycosugars (phyco: seaweed or algae). Phycosugars are different from common sugars in being sulphated. Phycosugars kill a wide variety of bacteria and have antioxidant properties. Scientists found that they were as effective as Tetracycline and Chloramphenicol, but less toxic and more cost effective. For over eighty years, scientists across the globe have been struggling to find new antimicrobials. With seaweeds to our rescue, it could now be a reality.

Published: Current Science. 

Reference: Carbohydrate Polymers 151: 584–592.

Vorticella as an Effective Mosquito Bio Control Agent

A microorganism species infects and kills mosquitos that spread malaria, dengue, yellow fever, Zika virus, and Chikungunya, claim scientists at the School of Life Sciences, North Maharashtra University in their recent study.

Vorticella is a naturally occurring protozoan organism found in fresh water bodies that also provide a breeding ground for mosquitos. Dengue, malaria, chikungunya, zika virus, yellow fever and filariasis are spread by two species of mosquito namely Aedes aegypti and Anopheles stephensi. These diseases cause severe morbidity and mortality in humans. Several synthetic insecticides such as temephos and organophosphate have been used for controlling mosquitos but they have raised environmental concerns because of the development of insecticide-resistant mosquitos and their harmful effects on non-target animals. This calls for searching and developing biopesticides that are derived naturally and hence, are eco-friendly alternatives to synthetic and harmful pesticides.

Researchers at the School of Life Sciences, North Maharashtra University, Maharashtra have isolated and identified Vorticella species of parasites that infect and kill larvae of Aedes aegypti and Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes that cause diseases in humans. They collected dead mosquito larvae from different mosquito breeding sites in Jalgaon, Maharashtra, crushed them in saline solution, and prepared a suspension of Vorticella parasite. 

They found that the Vorticella suspension infected mosquito larvae. Within 48 hours of infection, the larvae became sluggish and immotile and by 84 hours, about 80% of the larvae died. The scientists proclaim, “The Vorticella sp. found in the present study showed potential for infection and mortality of Anopheles stephensi and Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae”.

Spraying a suspension containing Vorticella biopesticide could help kill larvae of mosquitos that cause diseases such as dengue, malaria, yellow fever, Chikungunya, and filariasis and manage the disease burden in tropical areas in an eco-friendly and cost-effective manner.

Published- Invention Intelligence Magazine Issue January-February 2017.

Reference: J Arthropod-Borne Dis 10 (4): 602–607. 

For- Vigyan Prasar- Indian Science News and Features Service. 

Heating and Reusing Oil for Deep Frying Harmful to Health

Heating and reusing oil that is used for deep frying increases the amounts of harmful trans fatty acids and reduces cis-unsaturated fatty acids that are beneficial for health, claims a study from several institutes of New Delhi including AIIMS, Fortis, IIT Delhi and Diabetes foundation in their recent study from North Indian oil samples. 

Deep-frying is a popular method of cooking across the world especially in the Indian subcontinent where the food is cooked in hot oil or fat, deep enough to immerse the food in the oil completely. During deep-frying where the oil or fat is heated in the open at high temperature, it undergoes thermal decomposition that causes deterioration of its properties, both sensory and nutritional. To cut down costs, homemakers and commercial food vendors reuse the oil that has been used for deep-frying, multiple times. Deep-frying causes the formation of trans fatty acids that have adverse effects on health that increases the risk for cardiovascular diseases, systemic inflammation, insulin resistance and type2 diabetes. Increase in the temperature or duration of heating oils increases the amount of harmful trans fatty acids, because of which several European countries have already recommended to not heat oil repeatedly and above 180°C.

Researchers from several institutes in New Delhi, India including AIIMS, IIT-Delhi, Fortis, and Diabetes foundation have found that heating and reheating oils for deep frying increase the amounts of harmful trans fatty acids and decrease the amounts of cis-unsaturated fatty acids that are beneficial for health. They conducted a survey that included female correspondents, fast food junctions including roadside vendors and a few restaurants. They found that north Indians consume 6 types of oils- refined soybean, groundnut, olive, rapeseed, vanaspati, and clarified butter or ghee for deep-frying.

The scientists used a large open vessel commonly called karahi to heat oil at temperatures 180°C and 220°C for 4 cycles of 30 minutes heating and 60 minutes cooling each. The oil samples were tested for the amounts of harmful trans fatty acids and beneficial cis-unsaturated fatty acids. They found that all six types of unheated oils had 60-90% cis-unsaturated fatty acids that are good for health and low to moderate amounts of harmful trans fatty acids. When oils and fats are heated above 150°C for more than 20 minutes and multiple times, the levels of harmful trans fatty acids increase significantly with a concomitant drop in beneficial cis-unsaturated fatty acids. Every cycle of heating, increases the levels of trans fatty acids even more. The scientists claim, “…fats/oils subjected to high temperature heating/re-heating show high levels of TFA (trans fatty acids) and SFA (saturated fatty acids) at the cost of cis-unsaturated fatty acids, which is nutritionally undesirable”.

The study advocates that Indian authorities need to set up guidelines to stop the practice of reusing the same oil or fat and maintaining a low temperature during frying in all food establishments.

Published- Invention Intelligence magazine (January-February issue 2017). 

Reference: Food Chemistry 212: 663-670.

For- Vigyan Prasar- Indian Science News and Feautures Service