A Novel Luminescent “Nanochip” as a Tandem Catalytic System for Chemiluminescent Detection of Sweat Glucose

Accurate sweat glucose detection is a promising alternative to invasive finger-prick blood tests, allowing for self-monitoring of blood glucose with good patient compliance. In this study, we have developed a tandem catalytic system, termed as a luminescent "nanochip" (LAON), which was composed of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and N-(aminobutyl)-N-(ethylisoluminol) (ABEI)-engineered oxygen-doped carbon nitride (O-g-C₃N₄), for chemiluminescent detection of sweat glucose. The LAON exhibits dual catalytic activity of glucose oxidase and peroxidase and can not only oxidize glucose to generate H₂O₂ but catalyze H₂O₂-mediated luminol chemiluminescence, resulting in sensitive detection of glucose. We identify that the LAON can precisely detect glucose with a detection limit of 0.1 μM, enabling us to measure glucose levels in different biological samples. Particularly, the LAON is capable of sensitively and accurately monitoring dynamic changes in sweat glucose during exercise. Therefore, the LAON provides an alternative approach to supersede invasive blood tests and may improve the management of diabetes mellitus.