Wireless and in situ regenerable multimodal wearable bioelectronic sweat sensor for continuous biomarker monitoring in everyday settings

Abstract

Wearable sweat-sensing technologies are limited by their inability to detect multiple molecular biomarkers, lack of multimodal capabilities, insufficient environmental robustness and the absence of in situ regenerability needed for long-term use outside laboratory conditions. Here we show a wireless, battery-free, multimodal wearable molecular sweat sensor that incorporates automated in-sensory regeneration and stable performance in real-world environments. Synthetic molecularly imprinted polymers, selected using density functional theory, allow selective biomarker recognition in sweat. In situ full regeneration of sensing components is achieved via voltage-based processes, whereby an electrical potential is applied to the molecularly imprinted polymer layers, causing the captured target molecules to be eluted from the sensor surface thus restoring the sensor for continuous use without manual intervention. We show simultaneously monitoring of cortisol, urea, lactate and glucose, with reliable operation validated for up to 21 days in both ex situ and in situ conditions. The presented advance enables long-term, comprehensive molecular health monitoring, suggesting future applications in healthcare, sports and personal well-being outside standard clinical settings.