Hydrogel Innovations in Biosensing: A New Frontier for Pancreatitis Diagnostics

Abstract

Pancreatitis is a prominent and severe type of inflammatory disorder that has grabbed a lot of scientific and clinical interest to prevent its onset. It should be detected early to avoid the development of serious complications, which occur due to long-term damage to the pancreas. The accurate measurement of biomarkers that are released from the pancreas during inflammation is essential for the detection and early treatment of patients with severe acute and chronic pancreatitis, but this is sub-optimally performed in clinically relevant practices, mainly due to the complexity of the procedure and the cost of the treatment. Clinically available tests for the early detection of pancreatitis are often time-consuming. The early detection of pancreatitis also relates to disorders of the exocrine pancreas, such as cystic fibrosis in the hereditary form and cystic fibrosis-like syndrome in the acquired form of pancreatitis, which are genetic disorders with symptoms that can be correlated with the overexpression of specific markers such as creatinine in biological fluids like urine. In this review, we studied how to develop a minimally invasive system using hydrogel-based biosensors, which are highly absorbent and biocompatible polymers that can respond to specific stimuli such as enzymes, pH, temperature, or the presence of biomarkers. These biosensors are helpful for real-time health monitoring and medical diagnostics since they translate biological reactions into quantifiable data. This paper also sheds light on the possible use of Ayurvedic formulations along with hydrogels as a treatment strategy. These analytical devices can be used to enhance the early detection of severe pancreatitis in real time.