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Published on: November 24, 2016
Flexible wood-derived hydrogel patch for smartphone-assisted interval sweat cortisol profiling
Meiting Chen1, Junpeng Shi2, Shenghang Zhang3
1State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, 350002, China; Xiamen Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Photoelectric Functional Materials, Xiamen Institute of Rare Earth Materials, Haixi Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, 361021, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 101408, China.
This study introduces a wood-derived hydrogel patch for noninvasive sweat cortisol analysis. The wearable sensor offers portable optical detection, enabling precise cortisol measurements in human sweat.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Wearable Biosensors
- Analytical Chemistry
Background:
- Noninvasive cortisol monitoring is crucial for stress and health assessment.
- Existing sweat-cortisol sensors often require complex instrumentation and are not easily portable.
- There is a need for user-friendly, integrated platforms for real-time cortisol analysis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a portable, wood-derived hydrogel patch for optical analysis of sweat cortisol.
- To integrate a cortisol-responsive Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) probe for molecular recognition.
- To enable pump-free sweat uptake and smartphone-based quantification of cortisol.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of a multilayer patch using delignified balsa wood and a PAAm/PVA/glycerol hydrogel.
- Incorporation of a cortisol-responsive FRET probe within the hydrogel sensing layer.
- Integration of adhesive and encapsulation layers for enhanced skin adhesion and water retention.
- Development of a companion smartphone application for portable data analysis.
Main Results:
- The developed patch demonstrated sensitive optical detection of sweat cortisol.
- A distinguishable response was observed at concentrations as low as 1 pM in human sweat.
- Pilot human studies confirmed the patch's feasibility for interval sweat cortisol analysis during exercise and across different times of day.
Conclusions:
- Wood-derived materials can be effectively utilized in wearable biosensing applications.
- The integrated hydrogel patch offers a bio-derived strategy for portable biochemical analysis.
- This platform provides a promising approach for noninvasive, real-time cortisol monitoring.
