Electronic bracelet for monitoring of alcohol lifestyle

Abstract

We demonstrate a wearable electronic bracelet for monitoring of alcohol lifestyle through the detection of ethyl glucuronide (EtG), a metabolite of ethanol associated with alcohol consumption, from human sweat. The device leverages disposable nanoporous polymer substrates that easily wick small volumes of sweat over the sensors electrodes. A gold working electrode fabricated on the flexible substrate is functionalized with EtG specific monocolonal antibodies using thiol based chemistry, as well as with a potassium ferricyanide redox molecule. When exposed to EtG in pooled human sweat, and sweat analog the binding of EtG to the sensing electrode results in chemiresistive changes to the electrode surface that can be quantified using square wave voltammetry (SWV). Varying doses of EtG was thus quantified and reported electronically by measuring changes in response peak currents. Detection of EtG was demonstrated in the range of 1–100 μg/mL in sweat analog. Similar dose discrimination was shown in the range of 1–10000 μg/L for human sweat, corresponding to one or more U.S. standard drinks. Validation of the EtG sensor performance was done using cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.