An integrated, wearable paper microfluidic array device for multicomponent electrochemical sweat sensing

Summary

Wearable sweat-sensing devices hold great promise for personalized healthcare but are facing substantial challenges in industrialization due to the lack of simple and efficient on-skin sweat-sampling modules. Here, we design a mass-producible paper microfluidic array with 96 inlets for tandem sweat collection, effective sampling (12 μL min⁻¹), and quick refilling (2 min). This microfluidic array can be conveniently worn on different parts of the body and integrated with a flexible electrochemical sensor array, which has been demonstrated with the newly developed array of Na⁺, K⁺, H⁺, glucose, and lactate sensors, and a printed circuit board for Bluetooth-controlled signal processing. Continuous analysis of sweat metabolites and electrolytes can be achieved to directly visualize the results on a custom-smartphone app. On-body tests demonstrate the feasibility of this skin-mounted, wearable device for continuous perspiration collection and multicomponent monitoring, demonstrating its practical application prospects.