APHRODITE: A Compact Lab-on-Chip Biosensor for the Real-Time Analysis of Salivary Biomarkers in Space Missions
Lorenzo Nardi,
Nithin Maipan Davis,
Serena Sansolini,
Thiago Baratto de Albuquerque,
Mohcine Laarraj,
Domenico Caputo,
Giampiero de Cesare,
Seyedeh Rojin Shariati Pour,
Martina Zangheri,
Donato Calabria,
Massimo Guardigli,
Michele Balsamo,
Elisa Carrubba,
Fabrizio Carubia,
Marco Ceccarelli,
Michele Ghiozzi,
Liyana Popova,
Andrea Tenaglia,
Marino Crisconio,
Alessandro Donati,
Augusto Nascetti,
Mara Mirasoli
Affiliations
Lorenzo Nardi
School of Aerospace Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Salaria 851, I-00138 Rome, Italy
Nithin Maipan Davis
School of Aerospace Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Salaria 851, I-00138 Rome, Italy
Serena Sansolini
School of Aerospace Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Salaria 851, I-00138 Rome, Italy
Thiago Baratto de Albuquerque
School of Aerospace Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Salaria 851, I-00138 Rome, Italy
Mohcine Laarraj
School of Aerospace Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Salaria 851, I-00138 Rome, Italy
Domenico Caputo
Department of Information Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunications, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Eudossiana 18, I-00184 Rome, Italy
Giampiero de Cesare
Department of Information Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunications, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Eudossiana 18, I-00184 Rome, Italy
Seyedeh Rojin Shariati Pour
Department of Chemistry “Giacomo Ciamician”, Alma Mater Studiorum—University of Bologna, Tecnopolo di Rimini, Via Dario Campana 71, I-47922 Rimini, Italy
Martina Zangheri
Department of Chemistry “Giacomo Ciamician”, Alma Mater Studiorum—University of Bologna, Tecnopolo di Rimini, Via Dario Campana 71, I-47922 Rimini, Italy
Donato Calabria
Department of Chemistry “Giacomo Ciamician”, Alma Mater Studiorum—University of Bologna, Via Selmi 2, I-40126 Bologna, Italy
Massimo Guardigli
Department of Chemistry “Giacomo Ciamician”, Alma Mater Studiorum—University of Bologna, Via Selmi 2, I-40126 Bologna, Italy
Michele Balsamo
Kayser Italy S.r.l. Unipersonale, Via di Popogna 501, I-57128 Livorno, Italy
Elisa Carrubba
Kayser Italy S.r.l. Unipersonale, Via di Popogna 501, I-57128 Livorno, Italy
Fabrizio Carubia
Kayser Italy S.r.l. Unipersonale, Via di Popogna 501, I-57128 Livorno, Italy
Marco Ceccarelli
Kayser Italy S.r.l. Unipersonale, Via di Popogna 501, I-57128 Livorno, Italy
Michele Ghiozzi
Kayser Italy S.r.l. Unipersonale, Via di Popogna 501, I-57128 Livorno, Italy
Liyana Popova
Kayser Italy S.r.l. Unipersonale, Via di Popogna 501, I-57128 Livorno, Italy
Andrea Tenaglia
Kayser Italy S.r.l. Unipersonale, Via di Popogna 501, I-57128 Livorno, Italy
Marino Crisconio
Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), Italian Space Agency, Via del Politecnico, I-00133 Rome, Italy
Alessandro Donati
Kayser Italy S.r.l. Unipersonale, Via di Popogna 501, I-57128 Livorno, Italy
Augusto Nascetti
School of Aerospace Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Salaria 851, I-00138 Rome, Italy
Mara Mirasoli
Department of Chemistry “Giacomo Ciamician”, Alma Mater Studiorum—University of Bologna, Tecnopolo di Rimini, Via Dario Campana 71, I-47922 Rimini, Italy
One of the main challenges to be faced in deep space missions is to protect the health and ensure the maximum efficiency of the crew by preparing methods of prevention and in situ diagnosis. Indeed, the hostile environment causes important health problems, ranging from muscle atrophy, osteopenia, and immunological and metabolic alterations due to microgravity, to an increased risk of cancer caused by exposure to radiation. It is, therefore, necessary to provide new methods for the real-time measurement of biomarkers suitable for deepening our knowledge of the effects of space flight on the balance of the immune system and for allowing the monitoring of the astronaut’s health during long-term missions. APHRODITE will enable human space exploration because it fills this void that affects both missions in LEO and future missions to the Moon and Mars. Its scientific objectives are the design, production, testing, and in-orbit demonstration of a compact, reusable, and reconfigurable system for performing the real-time analysis of oral fluid samples in manned space missions. In the frame of this project, a crew member onboard the ISS will employ APHRODITE to measure the selected target analytes, cortisol, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), in oral fluid, in four (plus one additional desired session) separate experiment sessions. The paper addresses the design of the main subsystems of the analytical device and the preliminary results obtained during the first implementations of the device subsystems and testing measurements on Earth. In particular, the system design and the experiment data output of the lab-on-chip photosensors and of the front-end readout electronics are reported in detail along with preliminary chemical tests for the duplex competitive CL-immunoassay for the simultaneous detection of cortisol and DHEA-S. Different applications also on Earth are envisaged for the APHRODITE device, as it will be suitable for point-of-care testing applications (e.g., emergency medicine, bioterrorism, diagnostics in developing countries, etc.).
