Abstract
Despite the huge expansion in recent years of sweat sensing and wearable technologies, several challenges are still open, including poor sample collection, separate sampling and analysis, low multi-sensing capabilities and materials toxicity. In this work, we propose a novel wearable multi-electrode platform efficiently tackling some of these issues. The sensing technology is based on one-step electrodeposited platinum nanostructures to achieve reproducibility and biocompatibility. The platform is highly flexible and includes four electrodes for the simultaneous sensing of analytes, a temperature sensor and a stable reference electrode (RE) with an ionic-liquid junction. A low-cost cotton fluidics is designed to continuously bring fresh sweat to the sensing area, while disposing the already-tested sample. The excellent analytical performance of the proposed technology is proved for different applications: Li+ for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) in psychiatric disorders, Pb2+ for the control of heavy metal contamination, K+ and Na+ for sport tracking. The sensors offer linear responses in artificial sweat in the ranges of clinical interest. A simulated wearable setup on a mannequin is used to test reversibility and selectivity. Finally, potassium and sodium are successfully tracked on five human volunteers during physical exercise. The accuracy of the in-situ measurements is demonstrated (Pearson coefficients of 0.97 and 0.81 for Na+ and K+, respectively). With its high biocompatibility, selectivity and accurate sample-handling, this wearable platform represents an important step towards the development of non-invasive monitoring devices for m-Health, paving the way for a better understanding of physiological parameters and clinical needs of each individual.
Highlights
Sweat sensing represents a promising alternative to the more used blood for several healthcare monitoring applications
In our recent work [24], we propose the innovative use of sweat sensing for lithium drug optimization to enable the non-invasive monitoring of drug levels with high accuracy from home
The proposed technology is efficiently tested in terms of analytical performance, reversibility and selectivity for three areas of applications: Li+ for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) of people affected by psychiatric disorders, Pb2+ for the control of heavy metal contamination, K+ and Na+ for tracking of physical exercise and dehydration
Summary
Sweat sensing represents a promising alternative to the more used blood for several healthcare monitoring applications. Despite being the gold standard for the determination of chemical compounds, blood collection requires invasive procedures and qualified personnel, and it is not suitable for continuous monitoring [1,2]. Urine offers another well-established biological sample, but a longer preparation procedure is needed [3]. Microneedles or under-the-skin excitation currents are needed to take out interstitial fluid [2] These methods can be irritating and uncomfortable for the dermis, especially during prolonged monitoring [4,2]. Sweat is accessible, it can be reproduced in the laboratory following specific standards, it does not need invasive procedures like blood sampling, it can be monitored continuously, and it provides abundance of biological information [4,6]
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