-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- pcb007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueThe Essential Guide to Surface Finishes
We go back to basics this month with a recount of a little history, and look forward to addressing the many challenges that high density, high frequency, adhesion, SI, and corrosion concerns for harsh environments bring to the fore. We compare and contrast surface finishes by type and application, take a hard look at the many iterations of gold plating, and address palladium as a surface finish.
It's Show Time!
In this month’s issue of PCB007 Magazine we reimagine the possibilities featuring stories all about IPC APEX EXPO 2025—covering what to look forward to, and what you don’t want to miss.
Fueling the Workforce Pipeline
We take a hard look at fueling the workforce pipeline, specifically at the early introduction of manufacturing concepts and business to young people in this issue of PCB007 Magazine.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Media kit
||| MENU - pcb007 Magazine
Point-of-Care Sensors to Detect Manganese from Single Drop of Blood
September 19, 2018 | UICEstimated reading time: 3 minutes

A three-year, $1.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health will enable researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago to develop portable, easy-to-use sensors that can detect toxic metals in a single drop of blood. The sensors would allow for faster and cheaper research, as well as rapid detection of metals including manganese and lead, both of which are powerful neurotoxins that can affect cognitive development and neuromotor function.
“Being able to quickly detect metals like lead and manganese would mean that remediation efforts to remove the metals from the environment can begin faster and treatment of the individual can also start faster,” said Ian Papautsky, the Richard and Loan Hill Professor of Bioengineering in the UIC College of Engineering and a principal investigator on the grant. “The sensors could also be used to test for these metals in water.”
Currently, small point-of-care sensors exist to detect lead in blood and water, but no such sensor exists to detect manganese. Manganese is an essential element needed by the body for basic cellular functions, but at higher levels, it is a potent neurotoxin that can accumulate in the brain and cause impairment. Current methods to detect this metal are expensive and time-consuming, involving either processing toenail clippings or hair, or taking blood draws in excess of 5 milliliters. Lead is another powerful neurotoxin that can cause lifelong deficits in IQ and academic achievement. Both metals are often discharged to the environment by industrial activities or manufacturing plants, while manganese is also a naturally occurring trace metal commonly found in the environment.
“Because these metals are most harmful to developing children, another issue, especially if you want to monitor exposure over time, is taking these relatively large —for a kid — amounts of blood over and over again to track manganese levels,” said Papautsky. “Getting a single drop of blood from a child is a lot easier.”
For researchers studying manganese in populations, they may only collect a few samples a day and wait until they have enough material to send to the lab for processing.
“This means research is often slow, with results coming in months after samples are collected. Our sensors could help speed research so that scientists can get answers faster,” Papautsky said.
Papautsky and his colleagues will work to develop and integrate several parts needed for the sensors: the chip on which a drop of blood or water is placed, the equipment that sends current through the chip to separate out the metal, the software to process the results, and the user interface that displays the results.
“We want the sensor to be easy for anyone to use, and the results easy to interpret,” Papautsky said.
Next, the team will validate their sensor by comparing results of blood tests from 150 children recruited from Chicago neighborhoods known to be affected by environmental manganese with results obtained from matching blood samples sent to a traditional lab for processing.
They will also investigate whether free manganese — manganese ions that aren’t bound to proteins — can provide useful information on total blood levels of manganese.
“Free manganese is much easier to measure than total manganese levels with our sensors, so if free manganese readings turn out to be accurate indicators of the total levels, we will further optimize the sensors to focus on free manganese,” Papautsky said.
Ultimately, Papautsky thinks his sensors will cost around $10 each, not including the hardware and software, which need to be purchased just once.
Other investigators on the grant are Erin Haynes, professor of environmental health, and William Heineman, Distinguished Research Professor, department of chemistry at the University of Cincinnati.
Suggested Items
Knocking Down the Bone Pile: Basics of Component Lead Tinning
04/02/2025 | Nash Bell -- Column: Knocking Down the Bone PileThe component lead tinning process serves several critical functions, including removing gold plating, mitigation of tin whiskers, reconditioning of component solderability issues, and alloy conversion from lead-free (Pb-free) to tin-lead or from tin-lead to lead-free for RoHS compliance. We will cover each of these topics in more detail in upcoming columns.
UMC Unveils New Fab Expansion in Singapore in Grand Opening Ceremony
04/01/2025 | BUSINESS WIREUnited Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), a leading global semiconductor foundry, today officially unveiled its new fab facility in Singapore in a grand opening ceremony.
Foxconn Names Kathy Yang Rotating CEO, Strengthening Leadership Ranks
03/31/2025 | FoxconnUnderscoring a strong commitment to grow next generation leaders, Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) has named Kathy Yang Chiu-chin its rotating Chief Executive Officer, effective Monday, setting two major milestones in corporate governance leadership for the world’s largest electronics manufacturing service provider.
Delvitech Expands Its Presence in Germany with the Appointment of Bijan Thomas Rahideh as Representative
03/31/2025 | DelvitechDelvitech, a leader in AI-driven automated optical inspection solutions, is strengthening its position in the German-speaking market by appointing Bijan Thomas Rahideh as its representative for Bavaria, Austria, and German-speaking regions of Switzerland.
STMicroelectronics Recognized as Top 100 Global Innovator 2025 for the Seventh Time
03/24/2025 | STMicroelectronicsSTMicroelectronics, a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, has been named in the Top 100 Global Innovators 2025.