Vitamin B6 plays a crucial role in immune function and brain health, yet patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes often experience deficiencies that can cause irritability, depression, anemia, or muscle weakness. Monitoring vitamin B6 typically requires costly and invasive blood draws, making it difficult for patients to track their health regularly. Researchers have now developed a non-invasive wearable device capable of continuously monitoring vitamin B6 and glucose through sweat, offering an easier and more affordable alternative.

The new on-skin sensing platform, created by engineers at Penn State University (University Park, PA, USA), detects trace amounts of vitamin B6 in sweat while also being adaptable for glucose monitoring, enabling simultaneous tracking for diabetic patients. It is based on laser-induced graphene (LIG) nanocomposites, which use atomically thin carbon layers as a scaffold for the sensor’s functional components, specifically targeting the biomarker of interest.

The study, published in Composites Part B: Engineering, detailed the use of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs)—synthetic materials that mimic biological receptors to selectively bind to target molecules like vitamin B6 and glucose. Combined with Prussian blue redox probes, which generate an electrical signal upon molecular detection, the system can sense vitamin B6 concentrations as low as 0.93 nanomolar, well below typical sweat levels of 100 nanomolar. The platform also demonstrated strong glucose detection performance during on-body testing, achieving a 93-nanomolar limit of detection.

The adaptability of MIP technology means the sensing platform can be reconfigured to detect other biomarkers, including female reproductive hormones or proteins associated with infections such as sepsis. Continuous monitoring of vitamin B6 may help healthcare providers identify large fluctuations that signal immune weakness, especially in chronic disease patients. Detecting early biochemical changes could allow for changes in treatment before patients get sick, improving patient outcomes and advancing personalized health monitoring.

“Due to the versatility and adaptability of using MIPs, the sensing platform is versatile and will work to also detect other biomarkers, like glucose,” said Huanyu “Larry” Cheng, who led the research team. “We would just change the MIP to target other proteins of interest, such as female reproductive hormones or proteins indicating an infectious disease, like sepsis, which we hope to do in subsequent phases of research.”

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