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Non-invasive and wearable glucose biosensor based on gel electrolyte for detection of human sweat

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Abstract

Flexible, wearable biosensors have been extensively investigated in recent decades due to their potential applications in portable electronics and human health monitoring. However, low sensitivity and complex fabrication are still great challenges for flexible sensors. Herein, a flexible electrochemical biosensor for glucose was proposed, which was based on reduced graphene oxide and gold nanoparticle-modified screen-printed gold electrodes (rGO-Au/SPGE) as catalysts and gel instead of traditional liquid electrolyte. The biosensor combines the soft stretchability of the gel, the specific selectivity of glucose oxidase (GOx) and the high catalytic activity of the rGO-Au/SPGE nanocomposite. More importantly, the soft gel not only adheres well to the skin, but also promotes the penetration of water-soluble molecules, effectively improving the accumulation of bodily fluids on dry skin surfaces. The constructed GOx-gel-rGO-Au/SPGE biosensor maintains stable sensing performance even after 1000 bending cycles. In addition, the biosensor exhibited significantly current response to glucose at a detection range of 1.25–850 µM and 0.85–7.72 mM (covers the glucose level in human sweat), with a sensitivity of 53.7 and 27.4 μA/mM cm2 and low detection limit (1.25 µM). The flexible electrochemical biosensor based on GOx-gel-rGO-Au/SPGE could accurately determine glucose in human sweat, demonstrating a promising feature for personal healthcare diagnosis.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51672074, 52272106), the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province, China (No. 2019CFA006), and the Program for Science and Technology Innovation Team in Colleges of Hubei Province (No. T201901).

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China, 52272106, Gang Chang, 51672074, Gang Chang, Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province, 2019CFA006, Yunbin He, the Program for Science and Technology Innovation Team in Colleges of Hubei Province, T201901, Yunbin He.

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  1. Ministry-of-Education Key Laboratory for the Green Preparation and Application of Functional Materials, Hubei Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Hubei University, No.368 Youyi Avenue, Wuchang, Wuhan, 430062, China

    Nan Gao, Zhiwei Cai, Gang Chang & Yunbin He

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  1. Nan Gao
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Correspondence to Gang Chang or Yunbin He.

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Gao, N., Cai, Z., Chang, G. et al. Non-invasive and wearable glucose biosensor based on gel electrolyte for detection of human sweat. J Mater Sci 58, 890–901 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-022-08095-7

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