Coppedè Nicola, Tarabella Giuseppe, Villani Marco, Calestani Davide, Iannotta Salvatore, Zappettini Andrea
Institute of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism (IMEM), National Research Council (CNR), Viale Usberti 37A, Parco Area delle Scienze 37/A, 43124 Parma, Italy.
J Mater Chem B. 2014 Sep 14;2(34):5620-5626. doi: 10.1039/c4tb00317a. Epub 2014 Jul 24.
Selective detection of bioanalytes in physiological fluids, such as blood, sweat or saliva, by means of low-cost and non-invasive devices, is of crucial importance to improve diagnosis and prevention in healthcare. To be really useful in everyday life a sensing system needs to be handy, non-invasive, easy to read and possibly wearable. Only a sensor that satisfies these requirements could be eligible for applications in healthcare and physiological condition monitoring. Herein an organic electrochemical transistor has been investigated as a simple, low-cost and e-textile biosensor, fully integrated on a single cotton yarn. The biosensor has been used for real-time detection of adrenaline, selectively compared to the saline content in human physiological fluids. The sensing mechanism is based on the oxidation of adrenaline at the Pt-gate electrode surface, with the formation of adrenaline-quinone and adrenochrome. Two independent organic electrochemical transistors, characterized by different gate-electrode materials, detect saline and adrenaline concentrations, respectively, in real human sweat. Measurements performed in real-time mode show the complete independence of adrenaline detection from NaCl and, hence, guarantee the simultaneous monitoring of both concentrations. The oxidation of adrenaline has been studied by means of absorption spectroscopy in air, with either silver or platinum working electrodes. Our results confirm that the oxidation reaction driven by the Pt-electrode leads to the formation of adrenochrome, while with the Ag-electrode the oxidation is similar to the spontaneous one occurring in air. The cotton-based biosensor shows the possibility of monitoring human performances (hydration and stress) in situ and using a non-invasive approach, opening new unexplored opportunities in healthcare, fitness and work safety.
通过低成本且非侵入性的设备对血液、汗液或唾液等生理流体中的生物分析物进行选择性检测，对于改善医疗保健中的诊断和预防至关重要。要在日常生活中真正发挥作用，传感系统需要便于携带、非侵入性、易于读取且可能可穿戴。只有满足这些要求的传感器才适合用于医疗保健和生理状况监测。在此，研究了一种有机电化学晶体管作为一种简单、低成本的电子纺织生物传感器，它完全集成在单根棉纱上。该生物传感器已用于实时检测肾上腺素，并与人体生理流体中的盐分含量进行选择性比较。传感机制基于肾上腺素在铂栅电极表面的氧化，形成肾上腺素醌和肾上腺色素。两个独立的有机电化学晶体管，其特征在于不同的栅电极材料，分别实时检测真实人体汗液中的盐分和肾上腺素浓度。在实时模式下进行的测量表明，肾上腺素检测完全独立于氯化钠，因此保证了对两种浓度的同时监测。通过在空气中使用银或铂工作电极的吸收光谱法研究了肾上腺素的氧化。我们的结果证实，由铂电极驱动的氧化反应导致肾上腺色素的形成，而使用银电极时，氧化类似于在空气中发生的自发氧化。这种基于棉花的生物传感器显示了以非侵入性方法原位监测人体表现（水合作用和压力）的可能性，为医疗保健、健身和工作安全开辟了新的未探索机会。
