Adhesive free, conformable and washable carbon nanotube fabric electrodes for biosensing

Abstract

Skin-mounted wearable electronics are attractive for continuous health monitoring and human-machine interfacing. The commonly used pre-gelled rigid and bulky electrodes cause discomfort and are unsuitable for continuous long-term monitoring applications. Here, we design carbon nanotubes (CNTs)-based electrodes that can be fabricated using different textile manufacturing processes. We propose woven and braided electrode design using CNTs wrapped textile yarns which are highly conformable to skin and measure a high-fidelity electrocardiography (ECG) signal. The skin-electrode impedance analysis revealed size-dependent behavior. To demonstrate outstanding wearability, we designed a seamless knit electrode that can be worn as a bracelet. The designed CNT-based dry electrodes demonstrated record high signal-to-noise ratios and were very stable against motion artifacts. The durability test of the electrodes exhibited robustness to laundering and practicality for reusable and sustainable applications.

Highly selective fluorescent sensor for ammonium ions

“…More and more research teams are reporting wearable sensor devices based on tattoos or fabric to achieve real-time monitoring of various electrolytes and metabolites. [41][42][43][44] It would be of great interest if the NH 4 + sensing system in this study could be presented in the form of a wearable flexible device that could monitor the health information of the body through fluorescent signals. Therefore, we examined the molding capability of the system on the flexible substrate.…”

Porous Conductive Textiles for Wearable Electronics

“…The high contact impedance and variability can easily lead to motion artifacts. Consequently, existing PCT-based electrodes are usually designed with a tight fit or secured with an elastic band to maintain consistent skin contact, , which may be uncomfortable for long-term use, despite the textiles’ flexibility and breathability. To tackle this problem, developing ultrasoft textiles made of materials such as ionogel fibers and incorporating biocompatible adhesives could potentially improve signal quality and comfortability. − Nonetheless, PCT-based dry electrodes offer a significant advantage in terms of long-term stability, making them promising for continuous and long-term monitoring applications.…”

Effect of carbon nanotube fiber on shielding effectiveness of stainless-steel electromagnetic shielding fabric

“…After testing, it was found that these materials exhibited good EMI shielding performance. Recently, carbon nanotubes have been increasingly utilized in the development of flexible wearable products (Zhang et al ., 2023; Tan et al ., 2023; Hossain et al ., 2022). The principle behind this is to leverage the excellent electrical properties of carbon nanotubes to create sensors, flexible electrodes and other applications.…”