(117e) Polymeric Nanosensors for in Vivo Lithium Monitoring

Recent years have shown the incredible versatility and utility of polymeric nanosensors.  Sensors have been developed for a wide variety of ionic analytes (e.g. sodium, potassium, pH) as well as nonionic analytics (e.g. glucose) and have been applied for challenging research fields such as detection of sodium sparks in live cardiomyocytes.  This field of research has yielded new knowledge on cellular metabolism and function.  Additionally, these sensors can be applied in vivo, through implantation in or under the skin in animals; showing potential as a research tool for continuous monitoring of analyte concentrations without the need for direct samples to be taken from the animal.    I will present research on the development and testing of in vivo lithium nanosensors based on this platform which are able to continuously monitor lithium concentrations for eventual application in the treatment of bipolar disorder.

This work was supported by the Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute Of Biomedical Imaging And Bioengineering of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number F32 EB015270, the National Institute of General Medicine of the National Institutes of Health under award number R01 GM084366 and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke under award number R01 NS081641.