gh A PORTRAIT OF LIQUID

Medicine crystallography is a prospective area of medicine diagnostics, which is actively developing in recent years. When a drop of biological liquid becomes dry, the pattern looks like concentric circle zones: macromolecular and low-soluble components are at the periphery of the dried drop, whereas soluble components are in the center. Illness influences the composition of biological liquids, such as blood, saliva, urine, so the pattern of the dried drop changes.

Researchers from the Institute of Applied Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences have developed a technique for automatic registration of mechanical characteristics of the drying liquid. They tested food, biological and medicine liquid preparations and various technical liquids and found that a 'portrait' of liquid is unique for each preparation.

A tiny drop of liquid is placed onto a level flat surface of electroacustic quartz resonator oscillating with frequency of 60 kHz. Of course, the drop influences oscillation parameters. A measuring circuit registers resonator reaction during the process of liquid drying. A complete drying takes 20-30 minutes; the obtained drying curve contains information about a composition and a structure of the liquid.

A drying curve shows difference between evaporation of distilled and tap water, blood and urine samples of ill and healthy people. The researchers believe that the method is very promising for diagnostics devices.

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