Soft, disruptive, and wearable electrochemical biosensors

Background: Soft wearable electrochemical biosensors are attracting increasing attention over the past several years due to their potential for non-invasive personalized health monitoring in real-time and in-situ. Objective: Herein, we cover the design, fabrication, and applications of soft electrochemical sensing systems. Firstly, we describe key design requirements for fabricating the mechanically compliant electrochemical biosensors. This is followed by a narration of typical sensor configurations and the detecting methodologies. Next, on-body soft electrochemical biosensing and cell/tissue-based “wearable” sensing applications are summarized. Detection of key biochemical markers, including metabolites (glucose, lactate, uric acid and ethanol), electrolytes (Na⁺ and K⁺), nutrients (vitamin C), hormones (cortisol) and proteins (TNF-α), as well as cellular signalling molecules (nitric oxide, hydrogen peroxide and serotonin), is the focus of the discussion in this review. Conclusion: We conclude the review with discussions on future opportunities and challenges of the soft and wearable electrochemical biosensors.