Abstract
Phenylketonuria is an inborn error of phenylalanine metabolism caused by a phenylalanine hydroxylase deficiency. To prevent the occurrence of neurological symptoms and maternal complications resulting from phenylketonuria, patients must adhere to a strict diet therapy, tetrahydrobiopterin supplementation, or pegvaliase injection to maintain blood phenylalanine levels within a recommended range throughout their lives. Therefore, monitoring blood phenylalanine levels is necessary to determine the recent metabolic status of phenylalanine in patients with PKU; however, there are no available instruments for individuals to monitor their own blood phenylalanine levels using whole fingertip blood. We developed a phenylalanine monitoring system (designated as PheCheck) that included a pre-existing portable ammonia detection device and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, which converts phenylalanine to trans-cinnamic acid and ammonia. This system was able to remove 86.7% ± 0.03% of the ammonia contained in fingertip blood and successfully reduce background ammonia levels. A good correlation was found between the estimated plasma phenylalanine levels detected by PheCheck and plasma phenylalanine levels detected by high-performance liquid chromatography (R2 0.97). The entire PheCheck process for measuring blood phenylalanine takes only 20 min. PheCheck can lay the foundation for home phenylalanine monitoring with high feasibility because all the components are easily accessible. Further studies with a more user-friendly PheCheck optimized for practice are needed to improve blood phenylalanine control, reduce the burden on patients and/or caregivers, and prevent the sequelae associated with phenylketonuria.