AWARE: A Wearable Awareness with Real-time Exposure, for monitoring alcohol consumption impact through ethyl glucuronide detection

• Published in: Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.) Vol. 81; pp. 93 - 99
• Main Authors: Lin, Kai-Chun, Kinnamon, David, Sankhala, Devangsingh, Muthukumar, Sriram, Prasad, Shalini
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.12.2019; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Alcohol use; Alcoholic beverages; Alcoholism; Biomarkers; Biosensor; Biosensors; Conflicts of interest; Continuous sensing; Decision making; Design of experiments; Disease control; Drinking behavior; Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS); Ethanol; Ethyl glucuronide (EtG); Laboratories; Metabolism; Metabolites; Personal health; Psychiatric/Mental Health; Sensors; Spectroscopy; Spectrum analysis; Sweat; Urine; Wearable; Womens health; United States > US; Texas; Continuous sensing; Wearable; Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS); Sweat; Biosensor; Ethyl glucuronide (EtG)
• ISSN: 0741-8329; 1873-6823; 1873-6823
• DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2018.10.006

Here we demonstrate for the first time a dynamic monitoring of the ethanol metabolite ethyl glucuronide (EtG) for a more robust evaluation of alcohol consumption, compared to conventional methods. A wearable biosensor device capable of reporting EtG levels in sweat continuously via low power impedance spectroscopy is reported. The custom hardware was compared against a conventional benchtop potentiostat, and demonstrated comparable results in the application of EtG detection in low volume sweat. The device successfully differentiated three distinct EtG concentrations correlating to simulated drinking scenarios estimated to be 1, 2, and 3 standard U.S. drinks consumed over a duration of 60 min, with p < 0.0001. This device has the potential to enable moderate drinkers to engage in guided decision-making, based on objective data, to address the needs of alcohol-sensitive populations. The device also will serve as a tool for researchers to better understand and characterize the relationship between sweat EtG and consumed alcohol. •A stand-alone wearable biosensor was demonstrated for non-invasive monitoring of sweat EtG.•EtG was detected continuously, toward demonstrating toward real-time alcohol consumption monitoring.•The wearable device has comparable performance with benchtop potentiostat.•The changes in the measured EtG concentrations were estimated to correlate to 1–3 consumed drinks.