Point of care detection of potassium in saliva using colorimetric optical absorption

Abstract

Potassium is the most important intracellular fluid cation that plays a crucial role in the maintenance of cell function. The leading cause of cardiovascular disease is hypertension which has a major effect on mortality rate worldwide. Potassium deficiency and excess can result in various symptoms like an irregular heart rhythm or multiple electrocardiographic abnormalities. So, to determine the potassium levels in saliva, a colorimetric kit is developed which works under the principle of colorimetric optical absorption and follows Beer Lamberts law. The device consists of Red-Green-Blue Light Emitting Diode which gives wide options to select the wavelength from 380 nm to 780 nm. A potassium reagent is developed which is added to the saliva samples and measured at 450 nm as it is most preferrable. The kit is tested with artificial saliva samples in different concentrations of potassium in different samples to check the accuracy of the kit. A mobile application can be developed to have results obtained in the kit to the smartphone through bluetooth connection and it can be used as a point of care device for quick and reliable results.