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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.

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.

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.

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