A research team led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst has developed a sensor to detect sodium ions in breast milk — a biomarker for elevated mammary permeability. This condition is a key indicator of subclinical mastitis, an asymptomatic inflammation of the breast that can contribute to milk supply issues and potentially hinder breastfeeding for new mothers.
Jinglei Ping, Associate Professor, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst
In the U.S., only 25% of mothers exclusively breastfeed for the recommended first six months, highlighting the urgency for solutions to common breastfeeding challenges. Subclinical mastitis, which lacks the overt symptoms of typical mastitis — such as pain, swelling, and fever — is particularly difficult to diagnose. “There is evidence that women with elevated permeability in the tissues lining the mammary gland, a hallmark of subclinical mastitis, at one-week postpartum are less likely to continue breastfeeding,” according to Kathleen Arcaro, professor of veterinary and animal sciences at UMass Amherst. She is an author of the team’s study, published in Sensors and Actuators.
Identifying subclinical mastitis has been a persistent challenge. High sodium concentrations in breastmilk are a known biomarker for the condition, yet as Jinglei Ping, associate professor of mechanical and industrial engineering and corresponding author of the paper, pointed out, “Surprisingly, there is almost no technique available to detect it at low cost, high precision, and short time.” He added, “No one will just send breastmilk samples to a lab, which can be expensive.”
The solution? A more efficient, accessible testing device. Ping said that Professor Arcaro and her colleagues proposed that “detecting sodium in breast milk in an easy, inexpensive, and quick way could have a huge impact on the health of new mothers. It may help identify new parents who are struggling with their milk supply. This is important because there are ways to address elevated mammary permeability.”
Their device is poised to advance the detection process. It offers highly sensitive sodium readings at a fraction of the cost, time, and sample size needed by existing methods. Whereas traditional mass spectrometry tests take 30 minutes and require expensive lab equipment, the UMass Amherst team’s sensor delivers results in just three minutes, costs about $1 per test, and is the size of a quarter. It also requires significantly less breastmilk — microliters instead of milliliters — to produce a result. Comparatively, other tests that match this device’s speed and cost fall short in usability, detection limits, and equipment size.
“That’s what we want for a point-of-care test — low cost, high precision, and high time efficiency,” said Ping, who envisions the device being as accessible as a blood pressure cuff in drug stores and clinics.
As Arcaro pointed out, research on subclinical mastitis in humans is limited, much of the knowledge coming from the dairy industry where the condition impacts milk quality and fat content. She hopes that the development of this sensor will advance research in human lactation and help improve breastfeeding outcomes for new mothers.
