MXene-Enabled Electrochemical Microfluidic Biosensor: Applications toward Multicomponent Continuous Monitoring in Whole Blood

Continuous and real-time sensoring has received much attention in biomarker monitoring, toxicity assessment, and therapeutic agent tracking. However, its on-site application is seriously limited by several stubborn defects including liability to fouling, signal drifting, short service life, poor repeatability, etc. Additionally, most current methods require extra sample pretreatment, delaying timely acquisition of testing results. To address these issues, MXene-Ti3C2Tx based screen-printed electrode incorporated with a dialysis microfluidic chip is constructed for a direct and continuous multicomponent analysis of whole blood. Dual-function of MXene is developed and allows for simultaneous quantification of different target compounds through one device. Importantly, ratiometric sensing tactic is easily implemented in the system, which greatly alleviates signal drifting. As a proof of concept, this novel sensor is applied in hemodialysis, and continuous assay of urea, uric acid, and creatinine levels in human blood is realized. This work paves a new path for 2D MXene in biomedical and sensing applications.