Method and apparatus for determination of chemical species in perspiration
First Claim
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1. A dermal patch to be worn on the skin of a subject mammal for quantitatively determining the presence and amount of an analyte in said subject'"'"'s perspiration, comprising:
- a fluid permeable support layer having a first and second side, and being adapted to be in fluid communication with the subject'"'"'s skin when said first side is proximate to the subject'"'"'s skin, wherein said support layer comprises a rate-limited structure that limits the rate of diffusion of perspiration through said support layer; and
an absorbent material located adjacent to said second side of said support layer and in fluid communication with said support layer for collecting non-aqueous components of perspiration which diffuse through said support layer.
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Abstract
A dermal patch to be worn on the skin for increasing the concentration of an analyte expressed through the skin in perspiration to a conveniently measurable level. Included are patches and methods of using such patches to determine the quantity of an analyte in a given volume of perspiration, to determine a subject'"'"'s sensitivity to an allergen, to allow an analyte to be detected with conventional detection systems, and to dissolve the structural components of a patch to facilitate analyte detection.
75 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A dermal patch to be worn on the skin of a subject mammal for quantitatively determining the presence and amount of an analyte in said subject'"'"'s perspiration, comprising:
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a fluid permeable support layer having a first and second side, and being adapted to be in fluid communication with the subject'"'"'s skin when said first side is proximate to the subject'"'"'s skin, wherein said support layer comprises a rate-limited structure that limits the rate of diffusion of perspiration through said support layer; and an absorbent material located adjacent to said second side of said support layer and in fluid communication with said support layer for collecting non-aqueous components of perspiration which diffuse through said support layer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of quantitatively determining the presence of an analyte contained in the perspiration of a subject mammal, comprising the steps of:
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a. placing a patch on the skin of a mammal, wherein said patch comprises an absorbent material capable of concentrating non-aqueous components of the perspiration of said mammal and a rate-limited structure having a known area, wherein said rate-limited structure is positioned adjacent to said absorbent material and proximate to the skin of said mammal when said patch is placed on the skin; b. passing perspiration of said mammal containing an analyte through said structure at a known rate to said absorbent material; c. removing said patch after a sufficient test period of time has elapsed so that said analyte can be detected by an assay for said analyte; d. recording the amount of time the patch was worn in order to determine the total amount of perspiration which passed across said structure; e. determining the amount of said analyte contained in the patch; and f. relating the amount of analyte determined in step (e) to the amount of perspiration determined in step (d) in order to determine the average amount of the analyte in said mammal'"'"'s perspiration. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification