Silver Thread‐Based Microfluidic Platform for Detection of Essential Oils Using Impedance Spectroscopy

Abstract

Essential oils (EOs) have a long tradition of use in the medical and cosmetic fields basedon their versatile properties, including fungicidal, antiparasitic, and bactericidal effects. Nowadays,with the development of industry and electronics, EOs are increasingly being used in theagricultural and food industries; health industries, including pharmacy and dental medicine; andas cosmetic enhancements. The purpose of this study is to develop a compact and portableplatform for the detection of EO type and the concentration levels using knitted silver threads. Themethod is based on measuring the variation in values of the electrical parameters of the silverthreads using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The impedance of the solutionsapplied on the testing platform was measured in the frequency range from 1 Hz to 200 kHz. Theplatform was tested using three types of essential oils: tea tree; clary sage; and cinnamon bark oil.Increasing the concentration of essential oils resulted in increasing the electrical resistance of theplatform, decreasing the capacitance, and consequently increasing the impedance. The proposedcost‐effective platform can be used for the fast determination of the type and quality of essentialoils.