Wearable Enzyme-Free Glucose Sensor Using a Flexible Sericin-Based Conductive Bio-composite

Abstract

With over 500 million people affected by diabetes worldwide, there is an urgent need for painless, continuous glucose monitoring. However, current wearable sensors are limited by enzyme instability, mechanical rigidity, and poor correlation with blood glucose levels. Here, we present an eco-friendly flexible biosensor fabricated from silk sericin, an abundant cocoon by-product, crosslinked with dialdehyde HPMC and functionalized with AuNPs-AMWCNTs. This dual-crosslinking strategy integrates sericin's biocompatibility with the high conductivity and catalytic activity of the nanocomposite, yielding a robust sensing layer that withstands 200 folding cycles without performance loss. The sensor exhibits a low detection limit of 4 μM and a sensitivity of 13.43 μA•mM⁻¹•cm⁻² in the physiologically relevant 25-400 μM range. This work offers a sustainable and reliable platform for real-time, continuous, and noninvasive glucose monitoring, with significant potential for next-generation wearable health devices.