Wearable plasmonic paper-based microfluidics for continuous sweat analysis.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Analytical Chemistry
• Materials Science

Background:

• Current wearable sweat sensors often use enzymes or antibodies, which degrade over time, limiting performance.
• Accurate, continuous monitoring of sweat composition and loss is crucial for health and disease assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a stable, wearable sensor for simultaneous, quantitative analysis of sweat loss, sweat rate, and metabolites.
• To overcome the limitations of enzyme/antibody-based sensors using a label-free plasmonic approach.

Main Methods:

• A wearable plasmonic paper-based microfluidic system was designed.
• Label-free surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was employed for chemical fingerprinting.
• The device was tested for quantifying sweat loss, sweat rate, and uric acid in sweat.

Main Results:

• The system enabled continuous and simultaneous monitoring of sweat loss, sweat rate, and uric acid.
• Sensitive detection and quantification of uric acid were achieved at relevant concentrations.
• The device demonstrated robust skin interfacing due to its soft, flexible, and stretchable nature.

Conclusions:

• The developed wearable plasmonic sensor offers a stable and accurate alternative to traditional sweat analysis methods.
• This technology has potential for non-invasive, real-time health monitoring through sweat analysis.
• The paper-based microfluidic design ensures reliable quantification and user comfort.