Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Open Access Master's Report

Degree Name

Master of Science in Chemical Engineering (MS)

Administrative Home Department

Department of Chemical Engineering

Advisor 1

Adrienne Minerick

Committee Member 1

Timothy Eisele

Committee Member 2

Robert Handler

Abstract

Diabetes affects 537 million people worldwide, while 136 million Americans have diabetes or prediabetes; roughly 22.6% of individuals are undiagnosed. Diabetes is the inability to regulate blood sugar levels. Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is glycosylated hemoglobin and indicates average blood sugar levels over the past three months.

We adapted the selective boronic acid binding to the HbA1c sugar moieties from boronate affinity chromatography and translated it into a portable microchip paper-based electrophoresis platform. We explored a range of boronate concentrations at a steady voltage and sample volume to determine the optimal HbA1c binding and subsequent electrophoretic separation. A pH above 11 was determined optimal to overcome the blood sample's natural buffering capacity and favor binding to HbA1c.

Video images of the band separation were acquired but will be analyzed further using image processing software to quantify bandwidths for HbA1c level quantification and diabetic status determination.

Share

COinS