Electrochemical monitoring of alcohol in sweat

Biscay, Julien and Findlay, Ewan and Dennany, Lynn (2021) Electrochemical monitoring of alcohol in sweat. Talanta, 224. 121815. ISSN 0039-9140 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2020.121815)

[thumbnail of Biscay-etal-Talanta-2020-Electrochemical-monitoring-of-alcohol-in]
Preview
Text. Filename: Biscay_etal_Talanta_2020_Electrochemical_monitoring_of_alcohol_in.pdf
Accepted Author Manuscript
License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 logo

Download (1MB)| Preview

Abstract

Rapid, periodic monitoring and detection of ethanol (EtOH) after consumption via a non-invasive measurement has been an area of increased research in recent years. Current point-of-care or on-site detection strategies rely on single use sensors which are inadequate for monitoring during a longer period. A low cost, portable and novel approach is developed here for real-time monitoring over several days utilising electrochemical techniques. The sensor shows oxidation of the ethanol in phosphate buffer and artificial sweat using the amperometric response from the application of +0.9 V to the polyaniline modified screen printed electrode using 1 mM EtOH as the averaged amount of EtOH eliminated in sweat after the consumption of one alcoholic beverage. Our enzyme based electrochemical sensor exhibits a qualitative assessment of the presence of EtOH in small volumes (≤40 μL) of 0.1 M sodium bicarbonate and subsequently artificial sweat, with 50 measurements taken daily over 11 days. While quantitative information is not obtained, the sensor system exhibits excellent stability after 3 months’ dried storage in this complex biological matrix in an oxygen free cabinet. This addresses one of the key challenges for enzyme based electrochemical sensors, namely, the ability for real-time monitoring in complex biological matrices. The qualitative response illustrates the potential for this sensor to be exploited by non-experts which suggests the promise for their wider application in next-generation wearable electronics necessary for alcohol monitoring.