Advancements in Non-Invasive Biological Surface Sampling and Emerging Applications

Abstract

Biological surfaces such as skin and ocular surface provide a plethora of information about the underlying biological activity of living organisms. However, they pose unique problems arising from their innate complexity, constant exposure of the surface to the surrounding elements, and the general requirement of any sampling method to be as minimally invasive as possible. Therefore, it is challenging but also rewarding to develop novel analytical tools that are suitable for in vivo and in situ sampling from biological surfaces. In this context, wearable extraction devices including passive samplers, extractive patches, and different microextraction technologies come forward as versatile, low-invasive, fast, and reliable sampling and sample preparation tools that are applicable for in vivo and in situ sampling. This review aims to address recent developments in non-invasive in vivo and in situ sampling methods from biological surfaces that introduce new ways and improve upon existing ones. Directions for the development of future technology and potential areas of applications such as clinical, bioanalytical, and doping analyses will also be discussed. These advancements include various types of passive samplers, hydrogels, and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) patches/microarrays, and other wearable extraction devices used mainly in skin sampling, among other novel techniques developed for ocular surface and oral tissue/fluid sampling.

Microneedle-Based Device for Biological Analysis

“…Solid MNs and hollow MNs, made by silicon, glass, and stainless steel, are usually used for transdermal sampling ( Tariq et al, 2021 ). Normally, these types of MNs were punctured on the skin with the ISF collected by a vacuum pump or a well-absorbent film sucking to withdraw the tissue fluid for subsequent analysis ( Wang et al, 2005 ; Nalbant and Boyaci, 2019 ). For example, Kolluru et al (2019) designed a two-component system composed of a strip of paper on the back of stainless steel MN arrays.…”

In Vivo Solid-Phase Microextraction and Applications in Environmental Sciences

“…Furthermore, it may be possible to create wearable in vivo sampling devices by coating the surface of the devices with biocompatible materials or even using 3D printing to customize the design of such SPME devices . Such innovations would enable the use of in vivo SPME to collect the environmental information for a person, which would in turn allow the construction of a personalized exposure history …”

Non-Invasive, Topical Sampling of Potential, Low-Molecular Weight, Skin Cancer Biomarkers: A Study on Healthy Volunteers

“…Non-invasive, topical collection of LMW analytes was previously carried out by employing various sampling techniques, which are summarized in several review articles. , For instance, hydrophilic LMW analytes were successfully collected from the human skin surface using agarose hydrogel or commercially available peelable gel or by exposing skin to phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and were analyzed by desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI–MS), liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC–MS), or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), respectively. Moreover, non-invasive skin metabolite collection with a hydrogel micropatch demonstrated the feasibility to detect statistically significant differences between psoriatic and healthy skin. , By measuring the abundance of citrulline and choline on the skin surface, the research group could follow the treatment of skin psoriasis .…”