Eyeglasses-based tear biosensing system: Non-invasive detection of alcohol, vitamins and glucose

• Published in: Biosensors & bioelectronics Vol. 137; pp. 161 - 170
• Main Authors: Sempionatto, Juliane R., Brazaca, Laís Canniatti, García-Carmona, Laura, Bolat, Gulcin, Campbell, Alan S., Martin, Aida, Tang, Guangda, Shah, Rushabh, Mishra, Rupesh K., Kim, Jayoung, Zucolotto, Valtencir, Escarpa, Alberto, Wang, Joseph
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier B.V 15.07.2019
• Subjects: Alcohol; alcohol drinking; alcohol oxidase; alcohols; Alcohols - chemistry; Alcohols - isolation & purification; biomarkers; Biosensing Techniques; biosensors; Electrochemical sensor; electrochemistry; Eyeglasses; eyes; Glucose; Glucose - chemistry; Glucose - isolation & purification; Humans; monitoring; Monitoring, Physiologic; nutrients; Tears; Tears - chemistry; Vitamins; Vitamins - chemistry; Vitamins - isolation & purification; Wearable Electronic Devices; Wearable sensor; Alcohol; Glucose; Wearable sensor; Electrochemical sensor; Tears; Vitamins
• ISSN: 0956-5663; 1873-4235; 1873-4235
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2019.04.058

We report on a wearable tear bioelectronic platform, integrating a microfluidic electrochemical detector into an eyeglasses nose-bridge pad, for non-invasive monitoring of key tear biomarkers. The alcohol-oxidase (AOx) biosensing fluidic system allowed real-time tear collection and direct alcohol measurements in stimulated tears, leading to the first wearable platform for tear alcohol monitoring. Placed outside the eye region this fully wearable tear-sensing platform addresses drawbacks of sensor systems involving direct contact with the eye as the contact lenses platform. Integrating the wireless electronic circuitry into the eyeglasses frame thus yielded a fully portable, convenient-to-use fashionable sensing device. The tear alcohol sensing concept was demonstrated for monitoring of alcohol intake in human subjects over multiple drinking courses, displaying good correlation to parallel BAC measurements. We also demonstrate for the first time the ability to monitor tear glucose outside the eye and the utility of wearable devices for monitoring vitamin nutrients in connection to enzymatic flow detector and rapid voltammetric scanning, respectively. These developments pave the way to build an effective eyeglasses system capable of chemical tear analysis. [Display omitted] •Wearable fluidic tears biosensor and wireless circuitry integrated into eyeglasses for non-invasive biomarker monitoring.•Wearable tear sensing platform placed outside the eye region mitigates drawbacks of systems requiring direct eye contact.•Real-time collection and direct measurements of stimulated tears allow the first wearable tear alcohol monitoring platform.