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Microfluidic chips proved to be advantageous with regard to the reduction of the volumes of samples and reagents required, allowing medical diagnosis from a drop of biofluid, and the development of in vivo sensors and of systems for on-site analysis. Moreover, analysis times are usually shorter, several assays can be integrated into a single system without extending the size and complexity of the device, and several steps of the analytical procedure can be integrated and automated within the system. Creative Biolabs has focused on the development of microfluidic chips for many years and the one-stop microfluidic solutions can provide comprehensive technical support for advancing our clients’ projects.

Microfluidic Chips for Sweat Analysis

Sweat is an attractive biofluid for health monitoring because it can be locally and noninvasively induced and carries diverse biomolecules ranging from small electrolytes and metabolites to hormones and larger proteins that filter in from deeper in the body. This ease of access and rich composition give sweat potential to be used to probe the state of the body at a chemical level.

The wearable microfluidic chips are extremely attractive for real-time sweat analysis. The microfluidic chip is made using poly(methyl-methacrylate) PMMA and PSA (pressure-sensitive adhesive) polymer sheets. A CO₂ laser system was used to cut the various polymer layers and laminated together using a thermal roller laminator. The sensing area is a piece of textile embedded in the middle of the device with a pH-sensitive dye, which varies color according to the pH of the sweat. A passive pump, based on highly absorbent material, was integrated with the chip, reducing the quantities of sweat necessary for the analysis. The integration of a simple cotton thread inside the micro-channel ensured a homogeneous sweat flow rate through the channels, improving system response time and fluid flow in the microfluidic device.

Fig. 1 Microfluidic sweat analysis.^1,3

Advantages

• The volume of the body fluid sample needed is much less compared with traditional methods;
• The volume of the reagent needed for each test is also lowered to micro/nano liter scale;
• The real-time and continues in vivo monitoring of body fluid and wireless data transfer could be achieved;
• The wearable microfluidics can be easily integrated with other kinds of sensors, such as optical sensors, electrochemical sensors, and piezoelectric sensors.

Sweat Analysis Services at Creative Biolabs

At Creative Biolabs, we offer comprehensive wearable microfluidic chips development services for sweat analysis. As a combination of wearable technology and microfluidics, wearable microfluidics directly contacts human skin, which enables the collection and analysis of body sweat as well as integration with wireless data transfer function. The wearable microfluidic chips can achieve real-time continuous vital signs monitoring of glucose, lactate, sodium ion/potassium ion, calcium ion, and pH, with the collection and analysis of sweat.

Creative Biolabs has been involved in the field of microfluidic chips for many years and we are committed to completing your project with high quality. We can provide you with the best services to ensure your requirements are met. If you are interested in our services, please contact us for more details.

Published Data

The findings highlighted in articles regarding sweat analysis using a microfluidic chip are presented here:

1. Portable and refreshable recognition of biochemical fingerprints in sweat using flexible microfluidic nanoplasmonic sensors.

Fig 2. Dynamic sweat sampling and analysis performances of the microfluidic sweat SERS sensor.^2,3

Xuecheng He et al. designed a portable microfluidic platform that can identify biomarkers such as urea, lactate, and pH in sweat in a refreshable and portable manner. The device incorporates a micro-thin plasmonic metasurface featuring evenly distributed mushroom-shaped hot spots that demonstrate significant surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity. The integrated microfluidic SERS platform contains four layers, namely, the epidermal adhesive layer (double-sided medical tape), the PDMS layer, the SERS chip, and the tape encapsulation layer. Sweat can enter the microchannel with the help of the capillary effect of the microchannel and the pressure of the subcutaneous sweat glands. Once the sweat settles onto the plasmonic metasurface, in situ Raman analysis can be conducted by utilizing the SERS effect produced by the structured silver metasurface.

References

1. Liu, Liu, et al. " Wearable Microfluidic Sweat Chip for Detection of Sweat Glucose and pH in Long-Distance Running Exercise." Biosensors 13.2 (2023): 157.
2. Kim, Jaehoon, et al. "Nano-interstice driven powerless blood plasma extraction in a membrane filter integrated microfluidic device." Sensors 21.4 (2021): 1366.
3. Distributed under Open Access license CC BY 4.0, without modification.

For Research Use Only. Not For Clinical Use.