A research paper titled “Bioinspired Face Mask for Exhaled Breath Condensate Collection and Multiplexed Biomarkers Analysis” was published in ACS Nano.

Respiratory disease pandemic has heightened interest in breathomics. Exhaled breath condensate (EBC), being a noninvasive and information-rich biofluid, holds great promise for personalized health management. However, insufficient collection and limited analytical versatility remain major challenges for wearable EBC analysis. Here it is reported the bioinspired design and performance of a wearable face mask for efficient sampling (0.86 μL min^-1 per well) and in situ electrochemical monitoring of four biomarkers (alcohol, NO₂^-, NH₄⁺, pH) in EBC. The face mask sensor platform consists of a multi-stage thermoelectric cooling module, a bionic superhydrophobic self-cleaning cover, an expandable 4 × 4 electrode array and an electrochemical microsystem readout circuit. The surface temperature rapidly decreased to 12.5 °C within 1 min, reaching the exhaled vapor dew point to ensure rapid condensation. A wettability-gradient interface, constructed by a patterned superhydrophobic micro/nanostructured PDMS cover and hydrophilic electrode regions, effectively guide the biofluid into the sensor regions and stably fix it even under 180° rotation. The usability of this system is demonstrated by tracking metabolic responses in healthy participants following alcohol and high-protein food intake, as well as by enabling continuous dynamic monitoring of four biomarkers in EBC. This wearable EBC analysis system offers a versatile strategy for real-time breath analysis, may help personalized respiratory healthcare, metabolism tracking and environmental exposure analysis.

Jing Wang is the first author. This work was supported by funding from We acknowledge funding from the Shenzhen Science and Technology Program, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Synthetic Biology Research Center of Shenzhen University, Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Shenzhen Science and Technology Program, Shenzhen Overseas Talent Program.

Original link: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5c14778

Figure 1. A bioinspired wearable face mask for EBC sampling and in-situ analysis of multiple biomarkers.