Cortisol plays a crucial role in the correct development of the body, as well as in the day to day behavior of the

different bodily processes. Imbalances on cortisol levels, be it as a result of diet, stress, disturbed sleep patterns

or disease have a gradual yet massive adverse effect on the human body. As such, the early detection of

anomalies on corticosteroids is of increased importance to prevent or pretreat underlying issues and prevent the

development of more serious, chronic illnesses like Addisson’s sickness or Cushing’s syndrome. Since urine is

the most common biofluid used for this analyte’s determination, which is carried through a 24 h collection

process, there is high interest for alternative quantification methods that can reliably measure cortisol levels on

non-intrusive biofluids. Therefore, this work explores a novel way for the detection of cortisol in biofluids,

proposed for saliva and sweat, via a cheap and fast colorimetry-based method integrated into an alginate bead

format.