Biosensors can be printed directly on the skin and marked a new step towards the future of wearable computers.
They were obtained thanks to the technique published in the ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces journal by the group coordinated by Huanyu Cheng, of the State University of Pennsylvania, and the result of collaboration with the Chinese Institute of Technology Harbin.
The biosensors are able to collect various parameters, Cheng notes, such as temperature, humidity, blood oxygenation level and heart activity.
They can also be reused: just remove them with hot water, without damaging them.
Cheng's own group had already developed flexible printed circuit boards for wearable sensors, but this new technique of printing on the skin allows for the incorporation of metallic nanoparticles, such as silver, without using high temperatures.
“We were able to print directly onto the leather at room temperature,” says Cheng.
The next step will be to modify the technology to adapt biosensors to specific applications, such as monitoring symptoms associated with Covid-19.