Decentralized touch-based micronutrition sensor towards personalized nutrition: Parallel detection of sweat ascorbic acid and zinc ions

Abstract

The zinc (Zn) and ascorbic acid (AA) micronutrient duo has received a considerable attention in individual’s nutrition plans, particularly after the recent pandemic, owing to its distinct beneficial impact on boosting the immune system. Accordingly, there are growing needs for frequent and decentralized measurements of the trace element and micronutrient levels towards well-balanced personalized nutrition. Leveraging natural sweat sampling from the fingertip, we describe here a disposable electrochemical sensor array, consisting of neighboring Zn ion (Zn(II)), and AA electrodes, towards parallel touch-based on-site monitoring of dynamically-changing sweat Zn(II), and AA levels, following the intake of the corresponding nutrition supplements.. A highly permeable poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogel, placed on the dual-electrode sensor array, served for transferring the sweat from the fingertip onto the electrode surface. Zn(II) measurements were performed on a bismuth/Nafion modified screen printed electrode (SPE) with square-wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV), while the AA detection relied on recording of the open circuit potential (OCP) change, on the tetrathiafulvalene-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TTF-TCNQ) immobilized SPE. Rapid decentralized measurements of sweat Zn(II) and AA temporal profiles were carried out on the fingertip sweat of healthy subjects after consuming pill supplements in connection to the disposable strip along with hand-held electrochemical analyzer. The utility of the touch-based disposable Zn(II)/AA multisensory platform for parallel measurements of this pair of micronutrients was demonstrated towards personalized nutrition by providing real-time monitoring of the dose-response relationship. Our findings indicate that the new sweat nutrition sensing device holds considerable promise for guiding dietary interventions and enhancing personalized nutrition.