Jelena Komnenic Defended her Master Thesis with Success!

On May 9, Jelena Komnenic defended her master thesis entitled “Electromembrane extraction followed by smartphone detection of methamphetamine – A feasibility study”. In this research, chromatography and mass spectrometry were replaced with smartphone detection to measure methamphetamine (selected as model substance).  Maybe, in 5-10 years, patients can check their own medication by a finger prick, followed by EME plus smartphone detection from the finger prick blood droplet. In other words, the analytical chemistry will move out of the laboratory and into our private house…

Jelena Komnenic has successfully combined electromembrane detection with smartphone detection to measure methamphetamine (selected as model substance) in her master thesis work. Because the measurements were intended for blood samples, samples were first processed with electromembrane extraction (EME) to isolate methamphetamine from blood. Subsequently, methamphetamine was converted by a chemical reaction to a coloured substance, and the colour intensity was measured with the smartphone and correlated to concentration. Jelena developed the concept almost from zero, because very little has been reported in literature on EME plus smartphone detection, and because we have no previous experiences in our laboratory. Smartphone detection was feasible, but there were challenges in terms of calibration, sensitivity, detection limits, and specificity. Much more research is therefore required before EME plus smartphone detection can be used for real-life on-site measurement of drugs. We will contribute to this research by further development of EME, and we are very sure that there will be major developments of smartphone technology in the near future. Thus, in 5-10 years, patients can check their own medication by a finger prick, followed by EME plus smartphone detection from the finger prick blood droplet. EME will be performed in a micro-chip, powered by a small battery, and coupled directly to the smartphone. The smartphone will communicate with a database; data from the measurement will be submitted to the database, data will be used for system quality check and medical interpretation, and final results will be communicated back to the smartphone. In other words, the analytical chemistry will move out of the laboratory and into our private house…

Published May 21, 2019 8:30 AM - Last modified Mar. 13, 2020 7:13 AM