Open-Source Potentiostat for Wireless Electrochemical Detection with Smartphones

This paper describes
the design and characterization of an open-source
“universal wireless electrochemical detector” (UWED).
This detector interfaces with a smartphone (or a tablet) using “Bluetooth
Low Energy” protocol; the smartphone provides (i) a user interface
for receiving the experimental parameters from the user and visualizing
the result in real time, and (ii) a proxy for storing, processing,
and transmitting the data and experimental protocols. This approach
simplifies the design, and decreases both the size and the cost of
the hardware; it also makes the UWED adaptable to different types
of analyses by simple modification of the software. The UWED can perform
the most common electroanalytical techniques of potentiometry, chronoamperometry,
cyclic voltammetry, and square wave voltammetry, with results closely
comparable to benchtop commercial potentiostats. Although the operating
ranges of electrical current and voltage of the UWED (±1.5 V,
±180 μA) are more limited than most benchtop commercial
potentiostats, its functional range is sufficient for most electrochemical
analyses in aqueous solutions. Because the UWED is simple, small in
size, assembled from inexpensive components, and completely wireless,
it offers new opportunities for the development of affordable diagnostics,
sensors, and wearable devices.