Waterproof, electronics-enabled, epidermal microfluidic devices for sweat collection, biomarker analysis, and thermography in aquatic settings

Abstract

Waterproof epidermal microfluidics enable collection and analysis of sweat during aquatic exercise.

Advanced Wearable Microfluidic Sensors for Healthcare Monitoring

“…c) Optical images of a subject wearing a microfluidic sweat sensor made of SIS during swimming (left), color changing of the device (top right), and the device under mechanical deformation (bottom right). Reproduced with permission . Copyright 2019, American Association of Science.…”

“…d) Illustration of fabrication steps for the fabrication of elastomer‐based microfluidic networks by soft lithography. Reproduced with permission . Copyright 2019, American Association of Science.…”

“…Among the three aforementioned materials, PDMS is the most ubiquitous in microfluidic sensors owing to its low cost and mature and simple manufacturing methods. SIS possesses the highest elasticity ( E = 0.83 MPa) and greater physical robustness and can withdraw 2000% strain without failure . Due to their polymeric nature, these polymeric substrate materials also typically exhibit a hydrophobic property.…”

“…In addition, SIS possesses excellent characteristics of low water permeability and absorptivity. The result of a control experiment shows that a microfluidic device made with SIS for sweat capture and storage loses 20% of the liquid sample in 4 h at 37 °C, while the PDMS device with the same structure loses ≈100% within 3 h. Due to the better water barrier property, SIS microfluidic devices are more suitable for application underwater and during swimming, serving as the sweat capture and analysis platform without external containment and evaporative loss (Figure c) . The summarized physical features of polymeric substrate materials are presented in Table 1 .…”

“…Sweat is the most easily available biofluid because sweat glands cover the whole body, providing enough sampling zones for wearable sensors, and is of great diagnostic value due to its rich content of biomarkers of physical conditions and health status . With the utilization of soft materials and specially designed microfluidic networks, microfluidic sweat sensors have integrated capabilities of sweat capture, storage, and chemical analysis . Due to the excellent stretchability and outstanding sensing performances, wearable microfluidic networks provide an efficient platform for advanced sensor technologies for portable, noninvasive, fast, and multiple‐type analysis and have attracted tremendous attention in the fields of individualized healthcare, clinical medicine, and medical therapy .…”