Device assesses eye injuries by measuring vitamin C

Researchers from the University of Illinois are developing a portable sensor that measures levels of vitamin C in the eye in order to assess the extent of ocular injuries.

The device, known as OcuCheck, works on the premise that more serious injuries will lead to higher concentrations of vitamin C - also known as ascorbic acid – on the surface of the eye. This is due to the inner eyeball containing much higher levels of the substance.

“The sensor takes advantage of the fact that the ocular tear film – the viscous fluid that coats the eyeball – contains low levels of ascorbic acid, which is just vitamin C, while the interior of the eye contains much higher levels,” said University of Illinois bioengineering professor Dipanjan Pan. “So the concept is, if there is severe damage to the eye that penetrates deeply, the ascorbic acid will leak out in high concentration.”

OcuCheck uses graphene platelets that are layered 1 nanometre thick on filter paper. The upper layers include a unique polymer that interacts with the graphene, as well as gold electrodes and ascorbate oxidase, an enzyme that binds to ascorbic acid.