Ajeev Arya, Warfle Theodore, Maslaczynska-Salome Sara, Alipoori Saeideh, Duprey Colton, Wujcik Evan K
Materials Engineering And Nanosensor [MEAN] Laboratory, Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, The University of Maine Orono Maine USA
Advanced Structures and Composites Center [ASCC], The University of Maine Orono Maine USA
Chem Sci. 2025 May 1;16(21):9056-9075. doi: 10.1039/d5sc01634g. eCollection 2025 May 28.
The objective of this perspective is to review the high-interest field of wearable polymer-based sensors-from synthesis to use and detection mechanisms-with a focus on their transient nature, potential for reuse, and ultimate fate. While many bulk polymers have long been mass-produced, the materials needed to create polymer-based sensors-often with unique properties (, being electronically conductive)-are still highly active areas of research. Polymer-based materials and composites, when investigated as wearable sensors, have a wide range of applications with most falling under the umbrellas of biochemical and environmental sensing (, chemical reactivity-based detection) or physical sensing (, piezoresistive response). Since the long-term viability of these sensors is a function of not just their initial syntheses but also their ability to be durable, recyclable, or otherwise renewable, a discussion of both the technical and societal aspects of the reuse and ultimate fate of these materials will be covered. This discussion will focus on topics such as environmental impact, sterilization, and other methods for ensuring continued biocompatibility, as well as methods for the transformation, reclamation, or re-implementation of the sensor devices-a major issue the polymer community is facing.
本文的目的是回顾基于聚合物的可穿戴传感器这一备受关注的领域——从合成到使用及检测机制——重点关注其瞬态特性、重复使用潜力和最终归宿。虽然许多块状聚合物早已实现大规模生产，但用于制造基于聚合物的传感器的材料——通常具有独特性能（如具有导电性）——仍是研究的热点领域。当作为可穿戴传感器进行研究时，基于聚合物的材料和复合材料具有广泛的应用，其中大多数属于生化传感和环境传感（基于化学反应性的检测）或物理传感（压阻响应）范畴。由于这些传感器的长期可行性不仅取决于其初始合成，还取决于它们的耐用性、可回收性或其他可再生能力，因此将涵盖对这些材料重复使用和最终归宿的技术及社会层面的讨论。该讨论将聚焦于环境影响、灭菌以及确保持续生物相容性的其他方法等主题，以及传感器设备的转化、回收或重新应用方法——这是聚合物领域面临的一个主要问题。
