Recent Impact of Microfluidics on Skin Models for Perspiration Simulation

Skin models offer an in vitro alternative to human trials without their high costs, variability, and ethical issues. Perspiration models, in particular, have gained relevance lately due to the rise of sweat analysis and wearable technology. The predominant approach to replicate the key features of perspiration (sweat gland dimensions, sweat rates, and skin surface characteristics) is to use lasermachined membranes. Although they work effectively, they present some limitations at the time of replicating sweat gland dimensions. Alternative strategies in terms of fabrication and materials have also showed similar challenges. Additional research is necessary to implement a standardized, simple, and accurate model representing sweating for wearable sensors testing This research was funded by the Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i Recerca (AGAUR), for the Industrial PhD grant number 2019 DI 18. This work was partially funded thanks to the Red Nacional de Microfluídica RED2018-102829-T and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity, grant CTQ2017-84966-C2-1-R