Abstract
In order to realize a novel handheld monitor for the sympathetic nervous system, we fabricated an analytical system for salivary amylase activity (sAMY) using a dry-chemistry system called a “Cocoro Meter.” The device to quantify sAMY using an activity rate method was completely automated. This method was made possible by the fabrication of a disposable test-strip equipped with built-in salivacollecting and reagent papers, and an automatic saliva transfer mechanism. Within a range of sAMY between 0-200 kU/l, the calibration curve for the monitor showed a coefficient of R2=0.988 and CV (coefficient of variation) of 10.2%. The reproducibility between devices was within 10%. Moreover, it was demonstrated that: (i) the quantitativity of the sample collected by the test-strip was sufficient, (ii) the sublingual area was suitable as the sampling site of the saliva, and (iii) 30 s was sufficient for saliva sampling. Considering all of these effects including the saliva sampling site, a 12.1% CV was obtained for this monitor. A total of 1 min was sufficient to analyze the sAMY. Thus, this study demonstrated that the monitor might be used as a good index for psychological research.
