TUM Researchers Enable High-Precision Biosensing for Medical Wearables and Agricultural Monitoring

Nicolas Plumeré (third from left) and his team have developed an oxygen scavenger that converts excess oxygen into water. credit: Andreas Heddergott / TUM

(IN BRIEF) Technical University of Munich researchers have found a way to boost oxidase biosensor accuracy from about 50% to 99% by using an alcohol oxidase oxygen scavenger that prevents signal loss, eliminating the need for calibration. The advancement enhances precision in glucose, lactate and creatinine measurements, and could expand biosensor use in personalised medicine, wearable health tech and AI-based diagnostics. The team has also transferred the concept to agriculture, enabling nitrogen measurement tests for wheat. The work, supported by EU Horizon Europe funding, is published in Science Advances and could reduce reliance on laboratory testing while broadening real-world deployment of biosensors.

(PRESS RELEASE) MUNICH, 10-Dec-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — Technical University of Munich (TUM) researchers have achieved a major advancement in biosensor technology, increasing the accuracy of common oxidase biosensors from around 50% to approximately 99% — and doing so without the need for calibration. Biosensors already support millions of people living with chronic conditions such as diabetes, yet limited precision has constrained broader applications. The breakthrough developed at TUM now opens new opportunities not only for healthcare but also agriculture and other data-reliant fields.

The development was led by Prof. Nicolas Plumeré and his team, including Huijie Zhang — now a professor at Nanjing University of Science and Technology — and TUM doctoral researcher Mohamed Saadeldin. Their solution targets a long-standing problem in sensor performance: the loss of electrons to oxygen. Traditional oxidase biosensors generate electrical signals based on electron transfer, but when oxygen absorbs electrons before they reach the electrode, readings can fall significantly below true values.

To address this, the team created an oxygen scavenger system using a specific alcohol oxidase enzyme that converts oxygen into water without interacting with the analytes being measured. Once excess oxygen is removed, nearly all electrons reach the electrode, enabling reliable, high-fidelity readings. In laboratory studies, the approach dramatically improved sensor performance for glucose, lactate and creatinine — results now published in Science Advances.

Researchers see wide potential for the technology. In medicine, more accurate sensors could power wearable devices, improve patient monitoring, support early diagnosis and provide data foundations for AI-enhanced clinical systems. Outside healthcare, the team has already demonstrated agricultural use: building on the LiveSen-MAP project, they designed a nitrogen measurement test for wheat crops to help optimize fertilization and reduce environmental impact.

The research was conducted at the TUM Campus Straubing for Biotechnology and Sustainability and received financial support from the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme.