Hollow microneedle microfluidic paper-based chip for biomolecules rapid sampling and detection in interstitial fluid

Emerging innovations in portable chemical sensing devices: Advancements from microneedles to hydrogel, microfluidic, and paper-based platforms

With the public heightened emphasis on mitigating the occurrence risks of health-related ailment and optimizing personal physical performance, portable chemical sensing devices emerged as an indispensable component of pervasive health monitoring. Chemical sensing enabled the immediate and on-site identification of biomarkers in biological fluids by integrating colorimetry, fluorescence, electrochemical, and other methods into portable sensor devices. These sensor devices incorporated microneedles, hydrogels, microfluidic modules, and papers, facilitating conformal human-device contact and providing several visual sensing options for disease prevention and healthcare management. This review systematically overviewed recent advancements in chemical sensors for marker detection, categorizing them based on monitoring device types. Furthermore, we also offered recommendations and opportunities for developing portable chemical sensing devices by summarizing sensor integration methods and tracking sites on the human body.

Microneedles-Based Theranostic Platform: From the Past to the Future

Fully integrated theranostic devices are highly esteemed in clinical applications, offering immense potential in real-time disease monitoring and personalized care. Microneedles (MNs), as innovative and wearable devices, boast important advantages in biosensing and therapy, thus holding significant promise in the advancement of diagnostic and therapeutic platforms. Encouragingly, advancements in electrochemical sensing technology, micronano fabrication, and biocompatible materials are propelling momentum for MNs-based closed-loop systems, enhancing detection capabilities, biocompatibility, and cost-effectiveness. Moreover, the notable progress in integrating MN chips with other biochips signifies a frontier for growth. Successful clinical trials in target molecule monitoring and drug delivery domains herald excellent clinical translational prospects for the aforementioned theranostic platform. Finally, we delineate both challenges and opportunities in the development of integrated diagnostic and therapeutic MN systems, including continuous monitoring, intelligent control algorithms, safety, and regulatory considerations.

Glucose detection: In-situ colorimetric analysis with double-layer hydrogel microneedle patch based on polyvinyl alcohol and carboxymethyl chitosan

Skin interstitial fluid (ISF) has emerged as a significant reservoir of biomarkers for disease diagnosis and prevention. Microneedle (MN) patches are regarded as an optimal platform for ISF extraction from the skin due to their non-invasive nature. However, challenges such as prolonged sampling durations and complex detection procedures impede timely metabolic analysis. In this investigation, we amalgamated MN technology with immobilized enzyme technology to fabricate a dual-layer MN patch integrating sampling and detection functionalities, thereby enabling in-situ colorimetric detection of hyperglycemia. The tip layer of the patch, comprising polyvinyl alcohol/carboxymethyl chitosan (PVA/CMCS) MN, was synthesized utilizing a chemical crosslinking approach for the first time, with glucose oxidase (GOx) being incorporated. The hydrophilicity of CMCS expedited the extraction process, facilitating the retrieval of approximately 10 mg of ISF within 10 min. The backing layer consisted of an immobilized polyvinyl alcohol-chitosan-horseradish peroxidase (PVA-CS-HRP) hydrogel film loaded with 3,3', 5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB). Incorporating macromolecular polymer PVA and CS for HRP immobilization addressed the issue of poor stability associated with traditional natural enzymes, thereby enhancing the sensitivity of the reaction system. The in-situ colorimetric sensor facilitated minimally invasive ISF extraction and swift conversion of glucose levels into detectable color changes.

Porous Microneedles Through Direct Ink Drawing with Nanocomposite Inks for Transdermal Collection of Interstitial Fluid

Interstitial fluid (ISF) is an attractive alternative to regular blood sampling for health checks and disease diagnosis. Porous microneedles (MNs) are well suited for collecting ISF in a minimally invasive manner. However, traditional methods of molding MNs from microfabricated templates involve prohibitive fabrication costs and fixed designs. To overcome these limitations, this study presents a facile and economical additive manufacturing approach to create porous MNs. Compared to traditional layerwise build sequences, direct ink drawing with nanocomposite inks can define sharp MNs with tailored shapes and achieve vastly improved fabrication efficiency. The key to this fabrication strategy is the yield-stress fluid ink that is easily formulated by dispersing silica nanoparticles into the cellulose acetate polymer solution. As-printed MNs are solidified into interconnected porous microstructure inside a coagulation bath of deionized water. The resulting MNs exhibit high mechanical strength and high porosity. This approach also allows porous MNs to be easily integrated on various substrates. In particular, MNs on filter paper substrates are highly flexible to rapidly collect ISF on non-flat skin sites. The extracted ISF is used for quantitative analysis of biomarkers, including glucose, = calcium ions, and calcium ions. Overall, the developments allow facile fabrication of porous MNs for transdermal diagnosis and therapy.

A Review of Recent Advances in Microneedle-Based Sensing within the Dermal ISF That Could Transform Medical Testing

Interstitial fluid (ISF) has attracted extensive attention in an extremely wide range of areas due to its unique advantages, such as portability, high precision, comfortable operation, and superior stability. In recent years, the microneedle (MN) technique has been considered to be an excellent tool for extracting ISF because it is painless and noninvasive. Recent reports have shown that MN has good application prospects in ISF extraction. In this review, we provide comprehensive and in-depth insight into integrated MN devices for ISF detection, covering the basic structure as well as the fabrication of integrated MN devices and various applications in ISF extraction. Challenges and prospects are highlighted, with a discussion on how to transition such MN-integrated devices toward personalized healthcare monitoring systems.

Swellable colorimetric microneedles for glucose detection based on glucose oxidase-like gold nanoparticles

BACKGROUND

Regular blood glucose monitoring is very important for diabetic patients. The composition of skin interstitial fluid (ISF) is similar to that of blood, which can be used for daily blood sugar detection and disease care. However, most methods of ISF extraction have complicated steps, may cause skin damage, and can only extract a limited amount of ISF, resulting in low detection efficiency. Therefore, it is very necessary to develop a detection method that can not only extract a large amount of ISF safely, efficiently, and conveniently, but also realize rapid detection of glucose level in ISF.

RESULTS

Here, we developed a gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-based swellable colorimetric MN patch with minimally invasive sampling function and real-time ISF glucose analysis ability. The MN patch could quickly absorb a large amount of skin ISF, and 60.2 mg of ISF was extracted within 10 min in vitro. It was divided into two layers: the tip layer was embedded with AuNPs with glucose oxidase (GOx)-like activity, which catalyzed the oxidation of glucose extracted from ISF and produced hydrogen peroxide (H2O2); horseradish peroxidase (HRP) encapsulated in the backing layer catalyzed the oxidation of 3, 3', 5, 5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) by H2O2 to produce oxTMB, which led to a visible color shift in the backing layer. The ISF glucose level was judged by naked eyes and further quantified by color analysis with Image J software. As a result, the colorimetric MN patch successfully identified the normal blood sugar and hyperglycemia state in vivo.

SIGNIFICANCE

The colorimetric MN patch combined in-situ colorimetric sensing based on AuNP nanozyme with MN patch, which detected glucose level without blood drawing, increasing patients' compliance and reducing detection steps and time. Compared with the detection methods based on natural nanozymes, our method had better stability and sensitivity to complex environments (extreme pH and high temperature, etc.) in actual detection.

A swellable hydrogel microneedle based on cerium-metal organic frame composite nanozyme for detection of biomarkers

Skin interstitial fluid (ISF) has been an alternative source in the field of biomarkers analysis. This work developed swellable hydrogel microneedles (MNs) composed of polyvinyl alcohol and sodium alginate by chemical crosslinking (PVA/SA). Here, PVA/SA was firstly used to fabricate hydrogel MNs, achieving a swellable ratio of 150 % and a rapid extraction of 6.4 mg ISF in 15 min. To replace expensive and non-reusable test kits, hydrogel MNs based on composite nanozyme with high oxidase-like activity were successfully developed to recover and detect biomarkers. The nanozyme was composed of MnO2-modified mixed valence cerium-metal organic frame (MCM). MCM was characterized by multiple techniques to further confirm its composition and structure. MCM combined with the reduction reaction of glutathione (GSH) with oxidized substrate to achieve a colorimetric GSH detection, which had a detection limit (LOD, 0.36 μM) of GSH. The hydrogel MNs based on MCM (MCM-MNs) were firstly applied to the rapid detection of GSH in ISF. All in all, this method combines the advantages of nanozyme and hydrogel MNs to achieve a timely and minimally invasive analysis, which provides a new dimension for the in vivo detection of GSH by skin ISF and holds great implications in biomedical and bioanalysis fields.

The Progress in the Application of Dissolving Microneedles in Biomedicine

In recent years, microneedle technology has been widely used for the transdermal delivery of substances, showing improvements in drug delivery effects with the advantages of minimally invasive, painless, and convenient operation. With the development of nano- and electrochemical technology, different types of microneedles are increasingly being used in other biomedical fields. Recent research progress shows that dissolving microneedles have achieved remarkable results in the fields of dermatological treatment, disease diagnosis and monitoring, and vaccine delivery, and they have a wide range of application prospects in various biomedical fields, showing their great potential as a form of clinical treatment. This review mainly focuses on dissolving microneedles, summarizing the latest research progress in various biomedical fields, providing inspiration for the subsequent intelligent and commercial development of dissolving microneedles, and providing better solutions for clinical treatment.

Paper-based microfluidics and tailored gold nanoparticles for visual colorimetric detection of multiplex allergens

The highly efficient and accurate recognition of targeted allergens is an essential element in the diagnosis of allergic diseases and follow-up desensitization treatment in clinic. The current clinical methods widely used to detect sIgE are high cost, time-consuming procedures, and bulky equipment. Herein, a multiplex microfluidic paper-based device (multi-μPAD) was developed that combined with tailored gold nanoparticles for simultaneously visual, colorimetric detection of different allergens in serum. This device could be used as quantitative detection of sIgE with LOD as low as 0.246 KUA/L in colorimetric method. In vitro results also showed that this device possessed good repeatability, high accuracy and incredible stability in different pH (6.0-7.4) and temperature (24-37 °C), as well as long-term storage within 90-day. Finally, this method was successfully utilized for assessing clinical multi-sample screening in 35 allergic patients. After the addition of the samples from allergic patients, the agreement rate of clinical results with commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit reached more than 97%, which further indicated that this device had the advantages of efficient, accurate and sensitive to screen various allergens in real clinical serum samples. Therefore, by simply altering antigens and antibodies, this device can also be used for high-throughput detection of other allergens, making it considerable potential for clinical diagnosis of allergic diseases.

Microneedle-Integrated Sensors for Extraction of Skin Interstitial Fluid and Metabolic Analysis

Skin interstitial fluid (ISF) has emerged as a fungible biofluid sample for blood serum and plasma for disease diagnosis and therapy. The sampling of skin ISF is highly desirable considering its easy accessibility, no damage to blood vessels, and reduced risk of infection. Particularly, skin ISF can be sampled using microneedle (MN)-based platforms in the skin tissues, which exhibit multiple advantages including minimal invasion of the skin tissues, less pain, ease of carrying, capacity for continuous monitoring, etc. In this review, we focus on the current development of microneedle-integrated transdermal sensors for collecting ISF and detecting specific disease biomarkers. Firstly, we discussed and classified microneedles according to their structural design, including solid MNs, hollow MNs, porous MNs, and coated MNs. Subsequently, we elaborate on the construction of MN-integrated sensors for metabolic analysis with highlights on the electrochemical, fluorescent, chemical chromogenic, immunodiagnostic, and molecular diagnostic MN-integrated sensors. Finally, we discuss the current challenges and future direction for developing MN-based platforms for ISF extraction and sensing applications.