C 2019, 5(2), 17; https://doi.org/10.3390/c5020017
A Multifunctional Wearable Device with a Graphene/Silver Nanowire Nanocomposite for Highly Sensitive Strain Sensing and Drug Delivery
Ge Shi 1, Tianqing Liu 2, Zlatko Kopecki 3, Allison Cowin 3, Ivan Lee 4, Jing-Hong Pai 5, Sean E. Lowe 1 and Yu Lin Zhong 1,*
1
Centre for Clean Environment and Energy, School of Environment and Science, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD 4222, Australia
2
QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane City, QLD 4006, Australia
3
Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Australia
4
School of Information Technology and Mathematical Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
5
Australian National Fabrication Facility-South Australian Node, Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Australia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 9 March 2019 / Revised: 25 March 2019 / Accepted: 28 March 2019 / Published: 4 April 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomedical Applications of Carbon Materials)
Abstract
Advances in wearable, highly sensitive and multifunctional strain sensors open up new opportunities for the development of wearable human interface devices for various applications such as health monitoring, smart robotics and wearable therapy. Herein, we present a simple and cost-effective method to fabricate a multifunctional strain sensor consisting of a skin-mountable dry adhesive substrate, a robust sensing component and a transdermal drug delivery system. The sensor has high piezoresisitivity to monitor real-time signals from finger bending to ulnar pulse. A transdermal drug delivery system consisting of polylactic-co-glycolic acid nanoparticles and a chitosan matrix is integrated into the sensor and is able to release the nanoparticles into the stratum corneum at a depth of ~60 µm. Our approach to the design of multifunctional strain sensors will lead to the development of cost-effective and well-integrated multifunctional wearable devices. View Full-TextKeywords:
graphene; silver nanowire; multifunctional; wearable; strain sensor; drug delivery
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MDPI and ACS Style
Shi, G.; Liu, T.; Kopecki, Z.; Cowin, A.; Lee, I.; Pai, J.-H.; Lowe, S.E.; Zhong, Y.L. A Multifunctional Wearable Device with a Graphene/Silver Nanowire Nanocomposite for Highly Sensitive Strain Sensing and Drug Delivery. C 2019, 5, 17.
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