Potentiometric pH Sensor Based on Flexible Screen-Printable Polyaniline Composite for Textile-Based Microfluidic Applications.

Skin pH can be used for monitoring infections in a healing wound, the onset of dermatitis, and hydration in sports medicine, but many challenges exist in integrating conventional sensing materials into wearable platforms. We present the development of a flexible, textile-based, screen-printed electrode system for biosensing applications, and demonstrate flexible polyaniline (PANI) composite-based potentiometric sensors on a textile substrate for real-time pH measurement. The pH response of the optimized PANI/dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid/screen-printing ink composite is compared to electropolymerized and drop-cast PANI sensors via open circuit potential measurements.

Fabrication of sharp silicon hollow microneedles by deep-reactive ion etching towards minimally invasive diagnostics.

Microneedle technologies have the potential for expanding the capabilities of wearable health monitoring from physiology to biochemistry. This paper presents the fabrication of silicon hollow microneedles by a deep-reactive ion etching (DRIE) process, with the aim of exploring the feasibility of microneedle-based in-vivo monitoring of biomarkers in skin fluid. Such devices shall have the ability to allow the sensing elements to be integrated either within the needle borehole or on the backside of the device, relying on capillary filling of the borehole with dermal interstitial fluid (ISF) for transporting clinically relevant biomarkers to the sensor sites.