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April 3, 2026Science Translational Medicine6 citations

Resilient nanostructured bioanalytic microneedle longitudinally monitors preclinical renal and hepatic drug clearance and dysfunction

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JZJialun ZhuXCXuanbing ChengMBM. Bahman Bahramian

Key Points

  • The aim is to develop a resilient microneedle biosensor for monitoring renal and hepatic drug clearance effectively.
  • Fabricated resilient nanostructured bioelectrodes (RNBs) using a bilayer process with a gold adhesion layer.
  • Conducted in vivo biosensor monitoring in freely moving rat models.
  • Utilized a blood–interstitial fluid equilibrium approach for pharmacokinetic parameter derivation.
  • Assessed drug clearance and organ function across chronic kidney disease severities.
  • RNBs showed enhanced signal-to-noise ratio and stability over six days of use.
  • Delayed hepatic clearance of irinotecan was observed in liver-damaged models.
  • RNB correlated well with blood antibiotic pharmacokinetics across varying stages of chronic kidney disease.
  • Renal impairment was detected earlier than traditional biomarker thresholds.

Abstract

Wearable microneedle biosensors promise real-time molecular monitoring for precision medicine but are limited by low sensitivity and tissue abrasion. Overcoming these challenges, we recast electrode functionality not merely as a sensing substrate but as a mechanism for resilient, high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) measurements in tissue. Our microneedle-based resilient nanostructured bioelectrode (RNB) is fabricated using a bilayer process that strengthens the electrode with a micrometer-thick gold adhesion layer and reduces fabrication-induced stress through controlled dealloying. The resulting RNBs are corrosion resistant, stable over a wide potential window, and have an artifact-free, nanocavity-textured interface. They integrate receptor-based electrochemical biosensors with enhanced SNR through increased active area, diffusion, and antifouling while remaining abrasion immune in megapascal-stiff tissues. The RNB extended in vivo biosensor lifetime for pharmacokinetics monitoring to 6 days in a freely moving rat. Paired with a blood–interstitial fluid equilibrium–based bioanalytical framework, the RNB accurately derived blood-equivalent pharmacokinetic parameters, enabling not only precision dosing of narrow therapeutic index drugs but also the direct assessment of hepatic and renal clearance. In hepatic studies, the RNB revealed delayed clearance of a chemotherapeutic (irinotecan) in liver-damaged models. In renal studies, RNB recordings correlated with blood antibiotic pharmacokinetics across chronic kidney disease severities. The RNB detected renal impairment earlier than conventional biomarker thresholds through drug clearance quantification and captured recovery under therapeutic intervention. These results establish the RNB as a viable microneedle platform for high-fidelity in vivo deployment of electrochemical biosensors, enabling minimally invasive, longitudinal monitoring of low-concentration analytes and real-time assessment of organ function.

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Cite This Study

Zhu et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69cf5ede5a333a821460d805https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.adr5493
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Also Consider

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