City Research Online

Abstract

Since the mid-20th century, lithium continues to be prescribed as a first-line mood stabilizer for the management of bipolar disorder (BD). However, lithium has a very narrow therapeutic index, and it is crucial to carefully monitor lithium plasma levels as concentrations greater than 1.2 mmol/L are potentially toxic and can be fatal. The quantification of lithium in clinical laboratories is performed by atomic absorption spectrometry, flame emission photometry, or conventional ion-selective electrodes. All these techniques are cumbersome and require frequent blood tests with consequent discomfort which results in patients evading treatment. Furthermore, the current techniques for lithium monitoring require highly qualified personnel and expensive equipment; hence, it is crucial to develop low-cost and easy-to-use devices for decentralized monitoring of lithium. The current paper seeks to review the pertinent literature rigorously and critically with a focus on different lithium-monitoring techniques which could lead towards the development of automatic and point-of-care analytical devices for lithium determination.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
Publisher Keywords:	lithium monitoring; lithium sensors; therapeutic drug monitoring; bipolar disorder
Subjects:	Q Science > QD Chemistry R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0321 Neuroscience. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry T Technology
Departments:	School of Science & Technology > Engineering
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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