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ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #418437
Research Project: Preventing the Development of Childhood Obesity

Location: Children's Nutrition Research Center

Title: Molecularly imprinted wearable sensor with paper microfluidics for real-time sweat biomarker analysis

Author
item GARG, MAYANK - Texas A&M University
item GUO, HENG - Texas A&M University
item MACLAM, ETHAN - Texas A&M University
item ZHANOV, ELIZABETH - Texas A&M University
item SAMUDRALA, SATHWIKA - Texas A&M University
item PAVLOV, ANTON - Texas A&M University
item RAHMAN, M - Texas A&M University
item NAMKOONG, MYEONG - Texas A&M University
item MORENO, JENNETTE - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item TIAN, LIMEI - Texas A&M University

Submitted to: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/20/2024
Publication Date: 8/23/2024
Citation: Garg, M., Guo, H., Maclam, E., Zhanov, E., Samudrala, S., Pavlov, A., Rahman, M.S., Namkoong, M., Moreno, J.P., Tian, L. 2024. Molecularly imprinted wearable sensor with paper microfluidics for real-time sweat biomarker analysis. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c10033.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c10033

Interpretive Summary: The urgent need for real-time and noninvasive monitoring of health-associated biochemical parameters has motivated the development of wearable sweat sensors. Sweat sensors show promise to measure health parameters in real-time. In this study, we introduce a new sensor that uses innovative methods to continuously (i.e., repeated measurements over time) measure cortisol in sweat in real-time. We validated the wearable device's performance for quantifying cortisol concentrations on a healthy subject and demonstrated that the device could accurately quantify cortisol concentration at physiologically relevant ranges. These methods can be extended to the real-time detection of other biochemicals, such as melatonin. Future versions of this sensor may aid in the delivery of chronotherapy.

Technical Abstract: The urgent need for real-time and noninvasive monitoring of health-associated biochemical parameters has motivated the development of wearable sweat sensors. Existing electrochemical sensors show promise in real-time analysis of various chemical biomarkers. These sensors often rely on labels and redox probes to generate and amplify the signals for the detection and quantification of analytes with limited sensitivity. In this study, we introduce a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP)-based biochemical sensor to quantify a molecular biomarker in sweat using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, which eliminates the need for labels or redox probes. The molecularly imprinted biosensor can achieve sensitive and specific detection of cortisol at concentrations as low as 1 pM, 1000-fold lower than previously reported MIP cortisol sensors. We integrated multimodal electrochemical sensors with an iontophoresis sweat extraction module and paper microfluidics for real-time sweat analysis. Several parameters can be simultaneously quantified, including sweat volume, secretion rate, sodium ion, and cortisol concentration. Paper microfluidic modules not only quantify sweat volume and secretion rate but also facilitate continuous sweat analysis without user intervention. While we focus on cortisol sensing as a proof-of-concept, the molecularly imprinted wearable sensors can be extended to real-time detection of other biochemicals, such as protein biomarkers and therapeutic drugs.