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Polymeric Composite for Biosensor Applications

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 November 2025 | Viewed by 383

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Guest Editor
School of Life Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
Interests: stimuli-responsive polymers; hydrogels; wearables; health monitoring; colorimetric sensors; anti-counterfeiting
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polymeric composites, with their tunable architectures and multifunctional capabilities, have emerged as transformative materials in the development of next-generation biosensors. By synergistically integrating polymers with functional nanofillers, bioactive molecules, or conductive additives, these composites bridge the gap between advanced material science and real-world biomedical applications. This Special Issue highlights the cutting-edge innovations in polymeric composites—spanning hydrogels, conductive elastomers, molecularly imprinted polymers, and nanofiber-reinforced systems—that are redefining biosensing platforms for healthcare, environmental monitoring, and personalized medicine. Central to this Issue is the exploration of how composite design—such as dynamic crosslinking, interfacial engineering, and nanoscale hybridization—enhances critical sensor performance metrics. These include sensitivity, selectivity, biocompatibility, and mechanical adaptability to physiological signals (e.g., chemical and physical signals). Challenges such as long-term stability under physiological conditions, scalable fabrication of flexible electronics, and ethical considerations in clinical translation are critically addressed. Looking forward, this Issue spotlights emerging frontiers, including self-healing composites for durable wearables, environmentally responsive materials for closed-loop drug delivery–sensing systems, and AI-driven composite design for predictive biomarker analysis. By uniting perspectives from materials science, bioengineering, and clinical research, this Special Issue aims to catalyze interdisciplinary collaboration and accelerate the transition of polymeric composite-based biosensors from laboratories to global health solutions. We invite contributions that explore novel materials, innovative sensor architectures, and transformative applications, ultimately paving the way for intelligent, equitable, and sustainable biosensing technologies.

Dr. Fei Han
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • composites
  • biosensors
  • multifunctional polymer
  • wearable

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

12 pages, 3386 KiB  
Article
Poly(Vinyl Alcohol)–Carbon Nanotube Self−Adhesive Hydrogels for Wearable Strain Sensors
by Guofan Zeng, Nuozhou Yi, Qiaohang Guo, Fei Han and Mingcen Weng
Polymers 2025, 17(16), 2249; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17162249 - 20 Aug 2025
Viewed by 23
Abstract
Wearable conductive hydrogel sensors, which are highly convenient, have attracted attention for their great potential in human motion monitoring and smart healthcare. However, the self−adhesive properties, sensing performance, and stability of traditional hydrogels are not ideal, which seriously hinders their use in monitoring [...] Read more.
Wearable conductive hydrogel sensors, which are highly convenient, have attracted attention for their great potential in human motion monitoring and smart healthcare. However, the self−adhesive properties, sensing performance, and stability of traditional hydrogels are not ideal, which seriously hinders their use in monitoring and diagnosing joints throughout the human body. Here, CaCl2 is used to crosslink PVA to improve its self−adhesive properties, and it is then combined with a CNT conductive network. Next, a cyclic freeze–thaw strategy is utilized to fabricate a wearable PVA−Ca−CNT hydrogel with excellent self-adhesive properties and stability. PVA−Ca−CNT hydrogels can adhere to various substrates, with a maximum self-adhesion strength of 398 kPa and a unit adhesion energy of as high as 305 μJ cm−2. Furthermore, the CNT three−dimensional network enhances the tensile strength to 110 kPa, with almost no hysteresis. Based on resistance changes, PVA−Ca−CNT hydrogel exhibits a sensitivity of up to 11.11 as a strain sensor as well as a response to strain stimuli within 180 ms. When PVA−Ca−CNT hydrogel is adhered to the surface of human skin, it operates as a sensor for monitoring human movement. Not only can it accurately monitor the movement positions of major joints in the human body, it can also accurately identify tiny movements of the fingers and be used as a finger Morse code output device, which demonstrates the enormous potential of human motion monitoring systems based on self−adhesive hydrogel sensors in practical applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Composite for Biosensor Applications)
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