Flexible Nonenzymatic Biosensor for the Detection of Glucose Using Magnetoelectrochemical Deposition

Abstract

With the continual impact of diabetes affecting more than 400 million people around the world, many researchers are continuously exploring low-cost approaches for monitoring glucose levels. By properly treating and monitoring diabetic patients we can reduce or eliminate the risk of fatal outcomes, but current glucometers focus on invasive approaches to measure glucose levels in blood. Although this is a highly effective and rapid approach, the tedious process of extracting blood or wearing an embedded devices is burdensome for many patients. Noninvasive approaches have recently begun to gain traction by monitoring glucose in sweat using flexible sensors and devices. This approach has shown promise to be an ideal alternative to commercial options for monitoring glucose levels for diabetics. Herein, we present a nonenzymatic biosensor for glucose monitoring using a flexible indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate with a copper film deposited through magnetoelectrochemical deposition. Through the incorporation of a permanent magnet, the exploration of an enhanced biosensor for glucose was performed. This magnetoelectrochemically fabricated glucose sensor was compared to a copper deposited ITO sensor fabricated without a magnet and a thorough investigation of reproducibility, sensitivity, selectivity, and stability was completed for both sensors. With the use of the magnetoelectrochemically fabricated glucose sensor, a potential noninvasive approach to detect glucose in sweat is presented with enhanced sensitivity, selectivity, and reproducibility compared to previous nonenzymatic approaches.