A flexible and wearable amperometoric glucose sensor was fabricated and tested. Also, the sensor was utilized to tear glucose monitoring. The sensor was constructed by immobilizing GOD onto a flexible oxygen electrode (Pt working electrode and Ag/AgCl counter/reference electrode), which was fabricated using "Soft-MEMS" techniques onto a functional polymer membrane. In purpose of bioinstrumentation, adhesive agents were not used for constructing the flexible biosensor. Linear relationship between glucose concentration and output current was obtained in a range of 0.025-1.475 mmol/l, with a correlation coefficient of 0.998. Current dependences on pH and temperature were also evaluated. The current was largest at pH 7.0 and the current increased when temperature increased. This indicates that the output current depends on enzyme activity. Based on the basic characteristics investigation, the glucose sensor was applied to measurement of glucose in tear fluids on an eye site of a Japan white rabbit. The change of tear glucose level induced by oral-administration of glucose was monitored as a current change of the sensor attached on the eye site. In this investigation, the tear glucose level varied from 0.16 to 0.46 mmol/l. Although there was a delay of several tens of minutes towards blood sugar level, it is considered to be possible that non-invasive continuous glucose monitoring can be realized using the flexible biosensor.

No abstract

A wearable and flexible oxygen sensor for transcutaneous blood gas monitoring was fabricated and tested. The sensor has a laminar film-like structure, which was fabricated by pouching KCl electrolyte solution by both non-permeable (metal weldable) sheet and gas-permeable membrane with Pt- and Ag/AgCl-electrodes patterned using microfabrication process. The electrolyte solution was fixed only by heat-sealing the edges of the weldable membranes without any chemical adhesives. The wearable oxygen sensor (thickness: 84 mum) was applied to the electrochemical measurement with a constant potential of -600 mV vs. Ag/AgCl, thus obtaining the calibration range to dissolved oxygen (DO) from 0.0 to 7.0 mg/l with a correlation coefficient of 0.998 and the quick response time (53.4 s to 90% of a steady-state current), which operate similarly to a commercially available oxygen electrode. The sensor was also utilized to transcutaneous oxygen monitoring for healthy human subject. The sensing region of the wearable oxygen sensor was attached onto the forearm-skin surface of the subject inhaling various concentrations of oxygen. As a result of physiological application, the output current was varied from -6.2 microA to -7.8 microA within 2 min when the concentration of inhaling oxygen was changed from atmospheric air to 60% oxygen. Thus, the transcutaneous oxygen was successfully monitored without any inconveniences such as skin inflammation, etc.

No abstract

A wearable amperometric glucose sensor was fabricated and tested. Also, the sensor was utilized to tear glucose monitoring. The sensor was constructed by immobilizing GOD onto a flexible oxygen electrode, which was fabricated using "Soft-MEMS" techniques onto a functional polymer membrane. In purpose of bioinstrumentation, adhesive agents were not used for constructing the flexible biosensor. Linear relationship between glucose concentration and output current was obtained in a range of 0.039 -0.537 mmol/l. Current dependences on pH and temperature were also evaluated. The current was largest at pH 7.0 and the current increased when temperature increased. This indicates that the output current depends on enzyme activity. Based on the basic characteristics investigation, the glucose sensor was applied to measurement of glucose in tear fluids on an eye site of a Japan white rabbit. The change of tear glucose level induced by oral-administration of glucose was monitored as a current change of the sensor attached on the eye site. In this investigation, the tear glucose level varied from 0.2 mmol/l to 0.5 mmol/l. Although there was a delay of several tens of minutes towards blood sugar level, it is considered to be possible that non-invasive continuous glucose monitoring can be realized using the flexible biosensor.