Sensor design strategy for environmental and biological monitoring

Abstract

Rapid industrial growth has severely impacted ecosystems and aggravated economic and health risks to society. Monitoring of ecosystems is fundamental to our understanding of how ecosystem change impacts resources and is critical for developing data-based sustainability. Thus, the design and development of optimized sensors for ecosystem monitoring have received increasing attention.This review provides a comprehensive overview of systematic sensor design strategies for ecosystem monitoring from the material level to the form factor level. We discuss the fundamental transducing mechanisms of a representative sensor system including optical, electrical, and electrochemical sensors. We then review the sensor interfacing strategy for achieving stable and real-time monitoring of environmental biochemical factors from air, water, soil, and living organisms. Finally, we provide a summary of the current performance and prospects of this state-of-the-art sensor technology and an outlook on opportunities for possible future research directions in this emerging field.

Porous Conductive Textiles for Wearable Electronics

“…Wearable sensors have emerged as a promising technology in revolutionizing human life, especially for healthcare and wellness monitoring, as they can offer continuous, real-time, and noninvasive monitoring of various environmental and physiological parameters. ,− While flexible and stretchable thin-film materials have enabled the development of versatile wearable sensors, they lack permeability and comfortability due to their solid structures. , In this regard, the PCTs provide an appealing platform for the fabrication of wearable sensors that can be highly permeable and comfortable, owing to their soft texture and porous structure. These textile-based wearable sensors can be fabricated by utilizing functional PCTs through weaving, knitting, or printing technologies.…”

A nIR fluorescent single walled carbon nanotube sensor for broad-spectrum diagnostics

“…Electrical, optical, and mechanical properties of the sensing materials are converted to diagnostic signals for on-site users when a biomarker interacts with the sensor materials. 2…”

Tip-Enhanced Sub-Femtomolar Steroid Immunosensing via Micropyramidal Flexible Conducting Polymer Electrodes for At-Home Monitoring of Salivary Sex Hormones

“…Recently, electrochemical sensors have emerged as powerful platforms to meet the request for rapid, low-cost, and accurate sensing of ultralow-concentration hormones by portable miniaturized devices, showing potential in biomedical fields as well as environmental and food quality tracing. 11,12 In previous efforts, researchers attempted to measure salivary P4 and E2 by screen-printed immunosensing platforms. 13−15 However, due to constraints in terms of the limit of detection (LoD), which was ∼10 pM, and the linear range of 0.1−100 nM, undiluted samples and extra sample treatments with specialized instruments had to be utilized for the detection, and the accuracy might be compromised.…”

“…While conventional mass spectrometry and immunoassays have been demonstrated to analyze salivary P4 and E2 in clinically relevant studies with acceptable sensitivity in the pM range, , facile and continuous monitoring is difficult to implement using these complicated and expensive instruments. Recently, electrochemical sensors have emerged as powerful platforms to meet the request for rapid, low-cost, and accurate sensing of ultralow-concentration hormones by portable miniaturized devices, showing potential in biomedical fields as well as environmental and food quality tracing. , In previous efforts, researchers attempted to measure salivary P4 and E2 by screen-printed immunosensing platforms. − However, due to constraints in terms of the limit of detection (LoD), which was ∼10 pM, and the linear range of 0.1−100 nM, undiluted samples and extra sample treatments with specialized instruments had to be utilized for the detection, and the accuracy might be compromised. Although it is possible to reach a LoD close to the fM level for steroid hormones with the aid of nanomaterials, , aptamers, − or molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for electrode functionalization, thus far, sex hormone detection by flexible biosensors fabricated on polymer thin films or paper substrates , has remained limited to the pM level.…”