Wearable DNA-based sensors, similar to continuous blood glucose monitors, Accurately and safely detects vancomycin concentration in the body (nut. biotechnology. 2026, DOI: 10.1038/s41587-026-03010-w). The results are part of a small pilot test of a biosensor that detects chemicals in interstitial fluid just beneath the skin. Notably, the developers say the technology has the potential to measure a variety of drugs and biomarkers in the body.

Kevin PlaskoThe professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who led the research, biosensor expert. He said the research team chose vancomycin as the first target for the new sensor because “we generally agree with clinicians that vancomycin is very difficult to administer safely and effectively with current technology.”

“There’s a thin line between saying, ‘I didn’t give you enough and you’re going to die of sepsis,’ and saying, ‘I’m sorry I gave you too much and permanently damaged your kidneys!'”

Plaxco has collaborators at Monash University and the University of New South Wales. Neutromicsan Australian company working to commercialize this technology. Together, they developed a sensor that uses aptamers (DNA-based synthetic sensors) to bind to specific targets and placed these aptamers into 3-mm-long microneedles.

In a pilot study, six healthy volunteers were given the antibiotic vancomycin intravenously over 24 hours while wearing the patch.

Using a blood draw as a comparison, the researchers found that the sensor was accurate with a delay of about five minutes. This is similar to what is seen with continuous blood glucose monitors. The location on the body where the patch was applied did not appear to significantly affect the accuracy of the measurements. Participants also found the patch to be almost painless to use and remove.

Since completing the pilot study, Neutromics has tested the vancomycin sensor in a total of 85 participants, including 27 patients receiving treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU). Although these additional results have not yet been published, Plaxco said “the ICU data look promising.” The company plans further trials in the U.S. this year ahead of commercialization. The research team also succeeded in extracting up to one week’s worth of sensor data in animal experiments, demonstrating that the sensor can last for a long time.

According to Plaxco, the sensor can be adapted to sense a variety of drugs, toxins, and other biomarkers. Microneedle patches can also be multiplexed to include targets for detection of up to 10 molecules in interstitial fluid.

“It’s really interesting to see that we’ve been able to get an aptamer to work on these microneedles. I think this is something that people have generally wondered if it’s possible to directly monitor interstitial fluid in vivo, and it’s great to see that happen,” he says. Tim LawsonA clinician and researcher based at Imperial College, London, who also works on biosensor development, was not involved in this research.

Lawson said a potential challenge in scaling sensor technology to detect many molecules is that measurements from interstitial fluid are difficult to directly compare with measurements from serum or blood. “Interstitial fluid has different pharmacokinetics and is not inherently stable, which means additional methods are needed to calibrate against blood and use it to optimize delivery.”

He said good communication with medical professionals and high-quality data from clinical studies are key to getting vancomycin sensors into clinics and convincing people to use them. “We need strong evidence that continuous monitoring of antibiotics can optimize patient outcomes, and from there, it all comes down to cost and how it actually benefits the hospital,” he says.