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S&M4406 Research paper https://doi.org/10.18494/SAM6107 Published: April 2, 2026 Wearable Sweat Sodium Ion Biosensor for Personalized Hydration Strategy under Exercise-Induced Heat Stress [PDF] Shuai Zhang and Yong Zhang (Received December 10, 2025; Accepted February 24, 2026) Keywords: electrochemical sensing, ion-selective membrane, carbon nanotube composite, wearable platform, hydration monitoring
A flexible, screen-printed potentiometric biosensor was developed for the continuous, noninvasive monitoring of sodium concentration in human sweat. The sensor employed a poly(vinyl chloride) membrane doped with sodium ionophore X and sodium tetrakis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate, with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs, 0–1 wt%) incorporated to enhance ion-to-electron transduction. Structural characterization by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed homogeneous membrane formation and effective nanotube integration. Electrochemical analysis revealed a progressive improvement in performance with MWCNT loading: the sensitivity increased from 45.5 ± 1.2 to 58.2 ± 0.7 mV dec−1, the detection limit decreased to 9.1 × 10−5 M, and the potential drift was minimized to 0.1 mV h−1. The optimized device responded within 10 s and maintained stable slopes after 5000 bending and 2000 stretching cycles, demonstrating strong mechanical durability. Selectivity coefficients (log KNa,jpot ≈ −2.5 to −3.4) confirmed negligible interference from K+, NH4+, Ca2+, and Mg2+. During on-body trials involving 10 subjects performing 60 min of cycling at 27 ℃, the wearable sensor accurately captured dynamic sweat Na+ profiles ranging from 45 to 70 mM. Sensor readings correlated excellently with ion-chromatography reference values (R2 = 0.985, mean bias –1.2 mM). These results validate the device as a reliable real-time platform for individualized fluid-electrolyte assessment. The integration of nanocomposite solid-contact membranes with flexible printed electronics enables the precise quantification of sweat electrolytes, supporting data-driven, personalized hydration management during exercise and heat exposure.
Corresponding author: Shuai Zhang![]() ![]() This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Cite this article Shuai Zhang and Yong Zhang, Wearable Sweat Sodium Ion Biosensor for Personalized Hydration Strategy under Exercise-Induced Heat Stress, Sens. Mater., Vol. 38, No. 4, 2026, p. 1787-1802. |