Suggesting that this technology could help pave the way for personalized healthcare, the researchers devised a way for mass-producing a wearable sensor that monitors desired levels of drugs present in the human body.

Source: Caltech

According to its developers, the “printable molecule selective nanoparticles” feature core-shell cubic nanoparticles, including the specific molecules researchers want to measure, like vitamin C, for instance.

The team designed a molecular imprint that detects the targeted biomarker levels within the human body by encouraging an electrical exchange with sweat or bodily fluids.

The team further explained that the core-shell cubic nanoparticles are formed in a solution that captures the molecule that physicians want to monitor. Once a solvent is used to remove it, an imprint is left behind that exactly matches the molecule.

In the lab, the researchers combined polymers with a nanoparticle core composed of nickel hexacyanoferrate (NiHCF). “This material can be oxidized or reduced under an applied electrical voltage when in contact with human sweat or other bodily fluids,” the researchers explained.

Specifically, fluid — like sweat, for instance — encounters this material and produces an electrical signal in the holes that match the molecule’s shape that they are attempting to monitor. Once the desired molecule fills those holes, the electrical signal weakens, thereby revealing how much is present in the body.

“This core is critical. The nickel hexacyanoferrate core is highly stable, even in biological fluids, making these sensors ideal for long-term measurement,” the researchers concluded.

An article detailing the technology, “Printable molecule-selective core–shell nanoparticles for wearable and implantable sensing,” appears in the journal Nature Materials.