Silk-Based Electrochemical Sensor for the Detection of Glucose in Sweat

The development of reliable glucose sensors for noninvasive monitoring is highly desirable and essential for diabetes detection. As a testing sample, sweat is voluminous and is easy to collect compared to blood. However, the application of sweat glucose sensors is generally limited because of their low stability and sensitivity compared to commercial glucometers. In this manuscript, a silk nanofibril (SNF)/reduced graphene oxide (RGO)/glucose oxidase (GOx) composite was developed as the working electrode of the sweat glucose sensor. The SNF/RGO/GOx composite was prepared via a facile two-step process, which involved the self-assembly of SNF from silk fibroin while reducing graphene oxide to RGO and immobilizing GOx on SNF. The SNF/RGO/GOx glucose sensor exhibited a low limit of detection (300 nM) and high sensitivity (18.0 μA/mM) in the sweat glucose range, covering both healthy people and diabetic patients (0-100 μM). Moreover, the SNF/RGO/GOx glucose sensors showed a long stability for at least 4 weeks. Finally, the SNF/RGO/GOx glucose sensor was applied to test the actual sweat samples from two volunteers and two sweating methods (by dry sauna and exercise). The results indicate the glucose data tested by the SNF/RGO/GOx glucose sensor were reliable, which correlated well to the data obtained from the commercial glucometer. Therefore, the SNF/RGO/GOx glucose sensor developed in this study may have a great potential for glucose control in personalized healthcare monitoring and chronic disease management.