Instability of salivary biomarkers after collection and the absence of standardised handling methods are the principal barriers to home-based saliva diagnostics. The review collates preservation strategies for proteins, hormones, and nucleic acids that are essential for reliable decentralised testing.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
Saliva samples collected using the OMNIgene ORAL device and oral wash samples remain stable for microbiome diversity and relative abundance analyses for up to five years when stored at -80°C. This supports the use of these self-collection methods for long-term prospective biobanking and decentralised clinical studies.
Slack et al., Microbiology spectrum (paywalled) · source ↗
This developer study reports that a self-collection kit interfacing with a BD Microtainer produced RNA of sufficient quality and yield for transcriptomic analysis in a pilot group and a longitudinal rheumatology cohort. Most participants found the device easy to use, supporting its utility for decentralised blood sampling.
Eakman et al., Analytical chemistry (paywalled) · source ↗
In 104 healthy adults who collected both 24-hour urine and saliva at home, salivary iodine concentration measured at specific post-meal intervals showed excellent correlation with urinary iodine excretion. This suggests timed saliva microsampling could replace cumbersome urine collection as a reliable biomarker for assessing iodine intake in decentralised diagnostics.
Oblak et al., Radiology and oncology (paywalled) · source ↗
This paper describes a handheld electrochemical sensor for vitamin C measurement in saliva and urine, showing a linear range from 0.2 to 200 µm and detection limit of 0.03 µm. The device demonstrated satisfactory accuracy and recovery in human samples, suggesting potential for affordable home-based testing of vitamin C status.
Fu et al., Advanced healthcare materials (paywalled) · source ↗
This review found saliva comparable to blood and urine for detecting viral genetic material and antibodies, supporting patient-centric monitoring and decentralised surveillance. The authors state that standardised protocols and further validation are required for routine clinical use.