Motivation:

As the pandemic evolved, it became clear that single-marker, single-time-point diagnostics could not fully describe disease dynamics; some patients with low initial antigen levels later developed severe “white lung” changes on CT. This observation prompted me to design a sweat-based electrochemical biosensor for IL-6, a biomarker associated with long-COVID progression.

Results:

The EGaIn-PPD-AuNPs modified electrode demonstrated a substantial improvement in electrochemical performance compared with the bare electrode. The modification increased the effective surface area by over 30%, enhanced surface hydrophilicity, and improved conductivity without compromising stability.

When comparing different molecular interfaces, EGaIn-PPD-AuNPs exhibited more pronounced oxidation–reduction peaks than EGaIn-PABA-AuNPs, indicating a stronger affinity between PPD and AuNPs and superior electron transfer efficiency.

Team：Chang (Holly) Liu, Kaixin Chen.

Lab: Liu Lab.