Chapter 18 - Wearable biosensors for monitoring of disease-related biomarkers

Abstract

Wearable biosensors, mostly electrochemical but also optical, are garnering substantial interest in the last years because of their ability to provide continuous, real-time physiological information through dynamic, noninvasive measurements of disease-related biomarkers. Recent developments monitor a wide range of biomarkers (mostly metabolites) in different biofluids (sweat, tears, saliva, and interstitial fluid). Considering this rapidly moving and highly interesting field, this chapter gives an overall, critical, and updated overview of the unprecedented features and opportunities provided by wearable biosensors by discussing recent advances and key points to satisfy the current demands. Special attention is paid to the efforts focused on improving the reliability, wearability, and ease of operation of these biosensors using new flexible smart materials, as well as enhancing their multiplexing ability and integration with microfluidic sampling and transport systems and in daily-basis objects. The most remarkable attributes of these noninvasive wearable biosensing tools as well as the particularly challenging applications successfully addressed, most of them in a pioneering way, are reviewed. Remaining challenges to underpin their clinical acceptance are also discussed. They include large-cohort validation studies, a deeper understanding of the correlations between the concentration of biomarkers in the blood and noninvasive biofluids, and the need for increasing the range of accessible biomarkers by expanding the set of on-body bioaffinity assays. Future perspectives to have a wider impact on our daily lives are also commented.