Toward Continuous Monitoring of Breath Biochemistry: A Paper-Based Wearable Sensor for Real-Time Hydrogen Peroxide Measurement in Simulated Breath

Abstract

Exhaled breath contains a large amount of biochemical and physiological information concerning one’s health and provides an alternative route to noninvasive medical diagnosis of diseases. In the case of lung diseases, hydrogen peroxide (H ₂O ₂) is an important biomarker associated with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer and can be detected in exhaled breath. The current method of breath analysis involves condensation of exhaled breath, is not continuous or real time, and requires two separate and bulky devices, complicating the periodic or long-term monitoring of a patient. We report the first disposable paper-based electrochemical wearable sensor that can monitor exhaled H ₂O ₂ in artificial breath calibration-free and continuously, in real time, and can be integrated into a commercial respiratory mask for on-site testing of exhaled breath. To improve precision for sensing H ₂O ₂, we perform differential electrochemical measurement by amperometry in which screen-printed Prussian Blue-mediated and nonmediated carbon electrodes are used for differential analysis. We were able to measure H ₂O ₂ in simulated breath in a concentration-dependent manner in real time, confirming its functionality. This proposed system is versatile, and by modifying the chemistry of the sensing electrodes, our method of differential sensing can be extended to continuous monitoring of other analytes in exhaled breath.