Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7905, United States.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2021 Feb 24;13(7):8071-8081. doi: 10.1021/acsami.0c22730. Epub 2021 Feb 15.
Biomarkers in sweat are a largely untapped source of health information. Most of the currently available sweat harvesting and testing devices are incapable of operating under low-sweat rates such as those experienced by humans at rest. Here we analyze the and sampling of sweat through osmosis the use of a hydrogel interfaced with the skin, without need for active perspiration. The hydrogel also interfaces with paper-based microfluidics to transport the fluid capillary forces toward a testing zone and then evaporation pad. We show that the hydrogel solute content and area of the evaporation pad regulate the long-term extraction of sweat and its associated biomarkers. The results indicate that the platform can sample biomarkers from a model skin system continuously for approximately 12 h. On-skin testing of the platform on both resting and exercising human subjects confirms that it can sample sweat lactate directly from the surface of skin. The results highlight that lactate in sweat increases with exercise and as a direct result of muscle activity. Implementation of such new principles for sweat fluid harvesting and management wearable patch devices can contribute toward the advancement of next generation wearables.
汗水中的生物标志物是一个尚未被充分开发的健康信息来源。目前大多数可用的汗液采集和检测设备都无法在低出汗率下工作，例如人类在休息时的出汗率。在这里，我们通过渗透分析了汗的 和 采样——使用与皮肤接口的水凝胶，而无需主动出汗。水凝胶还与基于纸张的微流控技术接口，利用毛细作用力将流体输送到测试区域，然后输送到蒸发垫。我们表明，水凝胶的溶质含量和蒸发垫的面积可以调节汗液及其相关生物标志物的长期提取。结果表明，该平台可以从模型皮肤系统中连续提取大约 12 小时的生物标志物。在休息和运动的人体上进行的平台在皮上测试证实，它可以直接从皮肤表面采集汗液中的乳酸盐。结果表明，汗液中的乳酸盐随着运动的增加而增加，并且是肌肉活动的直接结果。实施这种新的汗液流体采集和管理原则——可穿戴贴片设备，可以为下一代可穿戴设备的发展做出贡献。
