Self-Testing of Ketone Bodies, along with Glucose, Using Touch-Based Sweat Analysis
Jong-Min Moon1, Rafael Del Caño1,2, Chochanon Moonla1
1Department of Nanoengineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, San Diego, California 92093, United States.
ACS Sensors
|December 13, 2022
Summary
A new noninvasive sweat test offers a simple, rapid, and pain-free way to measure β-hydroxybutyrate (HB) levels. This technology tracks dynamic HB changes and correlates with blood levels, aiding personal nutrition and wellness monitoring.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Analytical Chemistry
- Human Physiology
Background:
- β-Hydroxybutyrate (HB) is a key ketone body with significant roles in human health and nutrition.
- The growing popularity of ketone supplements necessitates convenient methods for monitoring HB levels.
- Current HB measurement methods are often invasive, laboratory-bound, or lack real-time tracking capabilities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a rapid, simple, low-cost, and noninvasive device for frequent onsite HB measurements.
- To enable real-time profiling of dynamic HB concentrations in decentralized settings.
- To validate a touch-based sweat HB testing method for tracking HB changes post-supplement intake.
Main Methods:
- A novel touch-based method utilizing a porous poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogel for instantaneous sweat collection.
- Employing a biocatalytic layer with β-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (HBD) and NAD+ on a screen-printed carbon electrode.
- Measuring sweat HB via the mediated oxidation of the NADH product, enabling rapid detection.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated a reliable noninvasive method for detecting and tracking dynamic HB changes in fingertip sweat.
- Established a personalized HB dose-response relationship in human subjects after consuming ketone supplements.
- Showed a significant correlation between sweat HB levels and capillary blood HB levels.
Conclusions:
- The developed touch-based sweat HB testing offers a pain-free and convenient alternative to invasive blood measurements.
- This technology can effectively track dynamic changes in HB concentrations, supporting personal nutrition and wellness applications.
- A dual biosensor for simultaneous sweat HB and glucose detection was successfully developed, expanding its utility.
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