Skin-interfaced microfluidic systems with spatially engineered 3D fluidics for sweat capture and analysis

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Microfluidics
• Wearable Technology

Background:

• Wearable systems with microfluidics are crucial for monitoring physiological signals.
• Additive manufacturing, specifically 3D printing, offers new possibilities for microfluidic device fabrication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce novel strategies, processing methods, and microfluidic designs for epidermal microfluidic (epifluidic) devices using 3D printing.
• To demonstrate a 3D printed epifluidic platform, the "sweatainer," for advanced sweat analysis.

Main Methods:

• Utilized additive manufacturing (3D printing) to create complex microfluidic architectures for epifluidic devices.
• Integrated colorimetric assays for in situ biomarker analysis.
• Developed a novel 'multidraw' sweat collection system for multiple, independent sample collection.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated a 3D printed epifluidic platform ('sweatainer') with complex, previously inaccessible fluidic components.
• Demonstrated in situ biomarker analysis using integrated colorimetric assays.
• Validated the 'multidraw' system for collecting multiple sweat samples in field studies.

Conclusions:

• The 3D printed sweatainer platform showcases the potential of additive manufacturing in microfluidics for wearable health monitoring.
• The developed system enables advanced sweat collection and analysis, paving the way for new diagnostic tools.