Portable electronic device, system, and method for analyte detection

Abstract

In some embodiments, the present disclosure pertains to new compositions of matter that comprise phosphorescent reporters. In some embodiments, the phosphorescent reporters of the present disclosure comprise strontium aluminate. In some embodiments, the strontium aluminate is doped with europium and dysprosium (SrAl2O4:Eu2+, Dy3+). Additional embodiments of the present disclosure pertain to methods of making the aforementioned phosphorescent reporters. In some embodiments, the method includes size reduction of inorganic phosphorescent powders through a combination of wet milling and settling. In additional embodiments, the present disclosure pertains to methods of detecting the phosphorescent reporters in various settings, such as diagnostic settings.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for detecting presence or absence of an analyte in a sample comprising:
 a.) a portable electronic device comprising
 i. an optical sensor; and 
 ii. an excitation light source; and 
   b.) software configured to control:
 i. excitation of a persistently luminescent inorganic phosphorescent analyte reporter comprising a molecular recognition element capable of specifically binding to the analyte, wherein the excitation comprises application of light from the excitation light source to the persistently luminescent inorganic phosphorescent analyte reporter; 
 ii. switching the light source off, thereby introducing a time delay between excitation and a subsequent measurement and allowing decay of background auto fluorescence and scattered excitation light, wherein the time delay is from microseconds to hours; and 
 iii. after the time delay, measurement of persistent luminescence from the excited persistently luminescent inorganic phosphorescent analyte reporter. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the software is configured to control cycling of excitation and subsequent time-delayed measurement of persistent luminescence, thereby collecting multiple time-delayed measurements of persistent luminescence from the excited persistently luminescent inorganic phosphorescent reporter. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the software is configured to average the resulting measurements from the cycling, thereby providing an amplified signal or higher signal to noise ratio as compared to a measurement that is not averaged. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the measurement of persistent luminescence comprises imaging the excited persistently luminescent inorganic phosphorescent analyte reporter with the optical sensor. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the software is configured to average multiple line scans of a single image, thereby providing an amplified signal or higher signal to noise ratio. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the portable electronic device comprises means for transmitting analyte detection results to an electronic device, network, database, or information system for further analysis, interpretation, or storage. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the portable electronic device comprises a camera, wherein the camera comprises the optical sensor and the camera flash comprises the excitation light source. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the portable electronic device is a cell phone comprising a camera, wherein the camera comprises the optical sensor and the camera flash comprises the excitation light source. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the system further comprises an attachment comprising an insertion port adapted and configured to couple a test cartridge to the portable electronic device and allow detection of persistent luminescence from the persistently luminescent inorganic phosphorescent analyte reporter to detect presence or absence of the analyte in the sample. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the system comprises the test cartridge loaded into the insertion port. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the test cartridge comprises a lateral flow assay strip encased in a housing material adapted and configured to load into the insertion port of the attachment. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the test cartridge comprises the persistently luminescent inorganic phosphorescent analyte reporter. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the persistently luminescent inorganic phosphorescent analyte reporter comprises:
 a.) at least one inorganic phosphorescent reporter particle;   b.) a shell encapsulating the at least one inorganic phosphorescent reporter particle; and   c.) the at least one molecular recognition element disposed on the shell, wherein the at least one inorganic phosphorescent reporter particle forms the core of the phosphorescent reporter.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one inorganic phosphorescent reporter particle comprises an inorganic host material doped with at least one rare earth metal or at least one transition metal. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one inorganic host material comprises zinc sulfide, calcium sulfide, an alkaline earth silicate, an alkaline earth aluminate, or a titanate. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the at least one inorganic host material comprises an alkaline earth silicate selected from the group consisting of beryllium silicate, calcium silicate, magnesium silicate, and barium silicate. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the at least one inorganic host material comprises an alkaline earth aluminate selected from the group consisting of strontium aluminate, calcium aluminate, magnesium aluminate, beryllium aluminate, and barium magnesium aluminate. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the at least one inorganic host material comprises a titanate selected from the group consisting of calcium titinate, magnesium titanate, and barium magnesium titanate. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one inorganic phosphorescent reporter particle comprises the inorganic host material doped with the rare earth metal, wherein the rare earth metal is selected from the group consisting of europium, dysprosium, lanthanides, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the persistently luminescent inorganic phosphorescent analyte reporter has a luminescence lifetime ranging from greater than about 10 microseconds to about an hour. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the size of the persistently luminescent inorganic phosphorescent analyte reporter is from about 10 nm to about 1000 nm. 
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the molecular recognition element comprises an antibody, an antibody fragment, an antigen, a nucleic acid, a peptide, a protein, or an aptamer. 
     
     
         23 . A method for time-gated detection of a presence or absence of an analyte in a sample, the method comprising:
 a.) providing a system comprising an excitation light source and an optical sensor;   b.) providing a persistently luminescent inorganic phosphorescent analyte reporter comprising a molecular recognition element capable of specifically binding to the analyte;   c.) contacting the sample with the persistently luminescent inorganic phosphorescent analyte reporter;   d.) after the contacting step, exciting the persistently luminescent inorganic phosphorescent analyte reporter by application of light from the excitation light source to the persistently luminescent inorganic phosphorescent analyte reporter;   e.) switching the light source off, thereby introducing a time delay between excitation and a subsequent measurement and allowing decay of background auto fluorescence and scattered excitation light, wherein the time delay is from microseconds to hours; and   f.) after the time delay, detecting a presence or absence of persistent luminescence, thereby detecting a presence or absence of the analyte in the sample.   
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the system is a system according to  claim 1 . 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the contacting the sample with the persistently luminescent inorganic phosphorescent analyte reporter comprises contacting the sample with a porous material loaded with the persistently luminescent inorganic phosphorescent analyte reporter. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the method comprises:
 a.) performing steps d) to f) multiple times;   b.) performing step f) by averaging multiple line scans of a single image; or   c.) a combination thereof.   
     
     
         27 . A device comprising a test cartridge comprising a lateral flow assay strip encased in a housing material, wherein the housing material is adapted and configured to load into the insertion port of a smart phone attachment, and the test cartridge further comprises a persistently luminescent inorganic phosphorescent analyte reporter.