Tiny wearable device can monitor your nicotine exposure

By Georgia Lambert via SWNS

A new wearable, battery-free device monitors a vaper's nicotine exposure from e-cigarettes.

It is well known that the nicotine found in electronic cigarettes is highly addictive and when smoked, it increases the risk of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.

However, to get a full understanding of its health effects, a real-time nicotine monitoring device has been developed to help vapers and non-vapers who may breathe in second-hand smoke to measure their exposure.

E-cigarettes are designed to heat and aerosolize a mixture of nicotine, glycerine, propylene glycol, and flavoring additives, which the user then inhales.

In the body, this dangerous mixture of substances can affect multiple organs, including the respiratory system, where vapes can alter a person's airflow while increasing their oxidative stress and impairing their immunity to illness.

Nicotine exposure can lead to lung cancer but assessing that exposure under real-life conditions has been difficult for researchers in the past.

While the current way of measuring ambient nicotine levels is isolated to a lab setting, which requires large sample volumes and timely research, a portable nicotine sensor is being developed as an alternative way of measuring levels while on the go.

A team of scientists from the American Chemical Society set out to design a lightweight, wearable sensor - capable of detecting nicotine in real-time while sending the data wirelessly to devices such as smartphones.

Professor Madhu Bhaskaran worked with Professors Ataur Rahman and Philipp Gutruf and the team started by choosing vanadium dioxide (VO2) on a polyimide substrate as the basis for their sensor.

In the study, the team explained how the device works. They said: "Nicotine can bond covalently to a thin film of VO2, thereby altering the film’s conductivity to an extent that depends on nicotine concentration.

"The device detects the change in conductivity, amplifies the signal and then transmits it wirelessly to a smartphone.

"When applied to skin, the battery-free sensor can measure the wearer’s exposure to vaporized nicotine in open air."

The researchers went on to explain that this groundbreaking approach expands the use of wearable electronics for the real-time monitoring of hazardous substances in the environment.

The study's findings were published in the ACS Sensors journal.