Candy-coated Lollylab checks saliva for medication
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What if checking medication levels were as simple as enjoying a lollipop? A candy-coated device called Lollylab could provide the answer. In ACS Sensors, researchers describe how the lollipop's stem transfers saliva to a sensor that measures acetaminophen levels.
In an initial test, a peach-flavored prototype reliably detected the pain reliever in six people's saliva in less than two minutes. Participants also found it more comfortable and easier to use than traditional collection swabs.
Saliva offers a window on dosage
Acetaminophen is an ingredient in many over-the-counter products, including pain relievers, cold and flu medications and more. But taking more than the maximum recommended dose can cause serious side effects, such as liver damage.
This is especially concerning for children, who can be at risk of an unintentional overdose at low levels of the medication. Because acetaminophen concentrations in saliva closely reflect those in blood, Sina Khazaee Nejad, Maral Mousavi and colleagues thought saliva could be a simple, noninvasive way to monitor the medication's levels.
A miniature lab inside a lollipop
Mousavi says they were inspired by the saliva sampling system CandyCollect—a lollipop-like device meant to replace throat swabs—but those specimens need to be analyzed elsewhere.
In this work, the researchers wanted to create a miniature laboratory-on-a-lollipop, or Lollylab. "By turning a familiar object like a lollipop into both a saliva collection device and a sensor, Lollylab can collect the sample and perform the measurement directly at the point of care," says Nejad, the first author of the paper.
Lollylab is built from two plastic pieces (each with a round end and a thinner stem) snapped together, with holes at the top for saliva to enter through.
The team coated the top of the device with a red, peach-flavored edible candy shell, which did not interfere with measurements. Saliva flows through the glass fiber paper–lined lollipop stem toward a graphene sensor at the bottom, which measures acetaminophen levels as changes in electrical current. The prototype device detected acetaminophen in both artificial and human saliva.
Early results point to broader testing
As proof of concept, six adults used Lollylab before and an hour after taking a standard adult dose of acetaminophen (650 milligrams). The device reliably measured the drug in the participants' saliva in less than two minutes, and they said it was easy to use and more comfortable than typical saliva swabs.
"The main takeaway is that diagnostic testing can be made much easier and more comfortable, especially for children," says Nejad. Next, the researchers plan to validate Lollylab's acetaminophen measurements with more participants, including children, and develop it to detect other substances in saliva such as naturally occurring stress markers.
"Our longer-term goal is to create a multi-assay platform capable of measuring several biomarkers, which could then be evaluated alongside acetaminophen in larger clinical studies."
Publication details
Sina Khazaee Nejad et al, Lollylab: A Lollipop-Inspired Device for Saliva Collection and Detection of Acetaminophen Toxicity in Pediatric Patients, ACS Sensors (2026). DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.6c00691
Journal information: ACS Sensors
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Clinical pharmacologyLaboratory medicinePediatricsChildren's healthFamily medicineCommon illnesses & Prevention Provided by American Chemical Society Who's behind this story?
Sadie Harley
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