A Skin-Interfaced Microfluidic Patch with Bioinspired Microstructures for Efficient Sweat Collection and Analysis

Wearable microfluidic devices for sweat collection and analysis have gained significant attention for their potential in noninvasive health monitoring. However, challenges remain in achieving efficient sweat collection, rapid analysis, and minimizing dead volume in the collection chamber. To address these issues, this study presents a skin-interfaced microfluidic patch with bioinspired microstructures, fabricated using microscale 3-D printing, designed for efficient sweat capture, and biomarker analysis. The device employs 3-D microfluidic channels inspired by the Araucaria leaf structure to reduce dead volume and enhances sweat collection. Testing in our experimental setup demonstrated that the device successfully captured up to 95% of the sweat produced, with rapid sampling and response times under 10 s. This design provides a new solution for real-time, continuous sweat components analysis, improving both the speed and accuracy of wearable biosensors for sweat metabolism analysis.