Massachusetts researchers to develop temporary tattoos for monitoring health

30 Jan 2024 --- University of Massachusetts (UMass) Amherst researchers secure funding to pioneer innovation in health monitoring technology with a sweat-analyzing temporary tattoo.

Researchers expect this innovation to transform how people monitor their health from the comfort of their homes, providing insights into key biomarkers linked to various diseases.

“There are a lot of vital biomolecules present in sweat that we need to measure to understand overall human performance and correlation to different diseases,” says Dmitry Kireev, lead researcher and assistant professor of biomedical engineering.

UMass shares the initial focus of the research on measuring cortisol, a biomarker associated with stress and various medical conditions such as stroke, Cushing’s syndrome and Addison’s disease.

Graphene-based tech
The National Science Foundation funded the project with a two-year, nearly US$200,000 EArly-Concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER), which centers on developing graphene-based tattoos. 

“It’s almost entirely transparent, exceptionally conductive and it really goes into this perfect contact with the human skin,” says Kireev. “It’s imperceptibly self-adhesive — we don’t apply any adhesive. We literally transfer it to the skin.” The sweat-analyzing temporary tattoo offers a user-friendly solution for health monitoring.

Unlike existing methods, which are “time-consuming” and “labor-intensive” and confined to laboratory settings, these tattoos offer a simple and user-friendly solution for analyzing sweat, highlights the university.

“Current sweat analysis typically done in clinics uses liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy,” explains Kireev. “These are all refrigerator-sized machines that are amazing, they could measure all your sweat, but you need to swab the sweat sample, store and analyze it. The process is slow and cost-ineffective.”

Accessible monitoring
UMass anticipates the proposed device will open up possibilities for health monitoring beyond clinical settings. 

“We want to have routine analysis [of these bioanalytes] so we don’t only get information about people when they’re sick or when they have the problem, but before it happens,” Kireev says.  

He highlights the growing interest in the area of personalized healthcare due to the availability of technology that allows for individual tracking — circadian rhythm, for example, is impacted by cortisol. Thus, he proposes monitoring cortisol levels throughout the day may provide insight into an individual’s sleep patterns.  

Converging tracks
According to the university, the research represents the convergence of two distinct tracks: Developing graphene-based tattoos as passive electrodes and advancing graphene-based biosensor technology. 

“Now, the idea is to combine these two technologies, functionalizing biomolecules on the graphene surface and employing human skin and sweat as the intermediary,” says Kireev. 

As the project progresses, Kireev aims to expand the capabilities of the tattoo to measure additional compounds such as glucose, lactate, estrogen and inflammation markers.

Edited by Venya Patel