A Wearable Multisensing Patch for Continuous Sweat Monitoring
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
In sport, exercise and healthcare settings, there is a need for continuous, non-invasive monitoring of biomarkers to assess human performance, health and wellbeing. Here we report the development of a flexible microfluidic platform with fully integrated sensing for on-body testing of human sweat. The system can simultaneously and selectively measure metabolite (e.g. lactate) and electrolytes (e.g. pH, sodium) together with temperature sensing for internal calibration. The construction of the platform is designed such that continuous flow of sweat can pass through an array of flexible microneedle type of sensors (50 µm diameter) incorporated in a microfluidic channel. Potentiometric sodium ion sensors were developed using a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) functional membrane deposited on an electrochemically deposited internal layer of Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) polymer. The pH sensing layer is based on a highly sensitive membrane of iridium oxide (IrOx). The amperometric-based lactate sensor consists of doped enzymes deposited on top of a semipermeable copolymer mebrane and outer polyurethane layers. Real-time data were collected from human subjects during cycle ergometry and treadmill running. A detailed comparison of sodium, lactate and cortisol from saliva is reported, demonstrating the potential of the multi-sensing platform for tracking these outcomes. In summary, a fully integrated sensor for continuous, simultaneous and selective measurement of sweat metabolites, electrolytes and temperature was achieved using a flexible microfluidic platform. This system can also transmit information wirelessly for ease of collection and storage, with the potential for real-time data analytics.
Date Issued
2016-09-21
Date Acceptance
2016-09-11
ISSN
0956-5663
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal / Book Title
Biosensors and Bioelectronics
Copyright Statement
© 2016, Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Sponsor
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Grant Number
EP/L014149/1
Subjects
Bioinformatics
0301 Analytical Chemistry
0903 Biomedical Engineering
1007 Nanotechnology
Publication Status
Published