Single-atom materials boosting wearable orthogonal uric acid detection

Uric acid (UA) is a vital biomarker for the diagnosis and management of various health conditions, including cardiovascular diseases, gout, kidney disorders, metabolic syndrome, and wound healing. Despite significant advances in wearable sensor technology, challenges persist in developing wearable sensors that are capable of maintaining high sensitivity, selectivity, and stability.

The team led by Yuehe Lin from Washington State University and Joseph Wang from University of California San Diego present an epidermal sensing platform enhanced with single-atom materials (SAMs) designed for flexible and orthogonal electrochemical detection of UA. They designed and synthesized an SAM with Fe-N5 active sites to boost the electrochemical sensing signals, integrating it with laser-engraved graphene (LEG) to fabricate a wearable SAM-based UA patch sensor. This design provides superior UA detection performance compared to sensors based on conventional nanomaterials.

In addition, they enhanced the detection accuracy and range by using an orthogonal approach that combines direct oxidation through differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) along with parallel biocatalytic amperometric detection. The resulting SAM-based UA orthogonal sensor patch demonstrated exceptional performance in wearable applications through tests measuring sweat UA levels in subjects before and after consuming a purine-rich diet.

The use of single-atom materials has greatly enhanced the performance of a flexible epidermal sensing platform for the orthogonal detection of sweat UA. The integration of a SAM with Fe-N5 active sites and LEG-based sensors enhanced sensitivity and expanded the detection range through an innovative orthogonal approach that combines direct oxidation with differential pulse voltammetry and parallel enzyme-cascade biocatalytic amperometric detection. The efficacy of this SAM-based UA patch sensor was confirmed through on-body tests measuring sweat UA levels before and after a purine-rich diet, underscoring its potential for advanced wearable applications in monitoring UA for both biomedical and nutritional purposes. It is anticipated that single-atom materials will advance a broad range of wearable sensing applications.