ecSkin: Low-Cost Fabrication of Epidermal Electrochemical Sensors for Detecting Biomarkers in Sweat

The development of low-cost and non-invasive biosensors for monitoring electrochemical biomarkers in sweat holds great promise for personalized healthcare and early disease detection. In this work, we present ecSkin, a novel fabrication approach for realizing epidermal electrochemical sensors that can detect two vital biomarkers in sweat: glucose and cortisol. We contribute the synthesis of functional reusable inks, that can be formulated using simple household materials. Electrical characterization of inks indicates that they outperform commercially available carbon inks. Cyclic voltammetry experiments show that our inks are electrochemically active and detect glucose and cortisol at activation voltages of -0.36 V and -0.22 V, respectively. Chronoamperometry experiments show that the sensors can detect the full range of glucose and cortisol levels typically found in sweat. Results from a user evaluation show that ecSkin sensors successfully function on the skin. Finally, we demonstrate three applications to illustrate how ecSkin devices can be deployed for various interactive applications.