The development of an instrument to measure transdermal hydrogen sulfide as a way to evaluate microvascular health in humans

Author

Benjamin Thomas MathesonFollow

Publication Date

Summer 7-13-2021

Abstract

Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is a gasotransmitter critical in maintaining microcirculation homeostasis. Impaired microcirculation occurs in multiple disease states such as peripheral vascular disease, diabetes mellitus (DM), and hypertension. Early detection and identification of patients with DM who are at risk for heart attack, stroke and amputation due to microvascular disease is crucial. Human skin is an accessible vascular bed that provides an opportunity to non-invasively measure H₂S, which could be used as a biomarker to evaluate microvascular health.

In this work, a novel H₂S gas sensor, called the transdermal arterial gasotransmitter sensor (TAGS^TM), was researched and developed to detect physiological levels of transdermal H₂S in humans. Data was collected from 29 individuals (14 DM and 15 non-DM) between the ages of 30-60. 10 of the 29 subjects were used to evaluate the precision of the TAGS^TM system by comparing measurements to a commercial H₂S-selective Serinus 55 TRS^TM analyzer (accurate to 0.5 ppb). Strong correlation was seen between the two devices (R²=0.876, p2S levels were measured using a monobromobimane (MBB) assay and cardiovascular risk markers were measured through blood and urine in order to evaluate correlations between transdermal H₂S levels. No significant correlations were seen, although mean TAGS^TM readings were lower in the DM group. Thus, the device precisely measures physiological levels of transdermal H₂S and further testing is warranted to determine the usefulness of the device in medical applications such as monitoring microvascular disease changes and/or the efficacy of wound healing interventions.

Language

English

Keywords

microvascular disease, H2S, gas sensor, diabetes mellitus, transdermal arterial gasotransmitter sensor (TAGS), monobromobimane (MBB) assay, plasma H2S, transdermal H2S

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Biomedical Engineering

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

Biomedical Engineering

First Committee Member (Chair)

Heather E. Canavan, PhD

Second Committee Member

Nancy L. Kanagy, PhD

Third Committee Member

Christina Salas, PhD

Fourth Committee Member

Reza Shekarriz, PhD

Recommended Citation

Matheson, Benjamin Thomas. "The development of an instrument to measure transdermal hydrogen sulfide as a way to evaluate microvascular health in humans." (2021). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/bme_etds/40