Textile-based sampling for potentiometric determination of ions

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Textile Engineering

Background:

• Traditional methods for analyzing clinical and environmental analytes often require large sample volumes and complex equipment.
• Developing portable, low-cost sensing technologies is crucial for widespread application in point-of-care diagnostics and environmental monitoring.
• Textile materials possess unique physical and chemical properties that could be leveraged for sample collection and analyte determination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate potentiometric sensing using textile-based micro-volume sampling for determining clinically relevant ions (Na+, K+, Cl-) and environmentally relevant analytes (Cd2+, Pb2+, pH).
• To investigate the influence of different textile materials (cotton, polyamide, polyester, and blends) on the accuracy of analyte determination.
• To explore the potential of textile-based sampling for on-body sensing applications and identify suitable materials for specific analytes.

Main Methods:

• Potentiometric sensing was performed by absorbing calibration solutions and samples into textile materials.
• Potentiometric cells (ion-selective electrodes and reference electrode) were pressed against the textiles to establish an electrical circuit via the absorbed liquid.
• Various textile types, including cotton, polyamide, polyester, and their blends with elastane, were tested for micro-volume sampling.

Main Results:

• Textile materials influenced the determination of pH in environmental samples near neutral pH and Pb2+ at low concentrations.
• Successful application of textile-based micro-volume sampling was demonstrated for Na+ determination using solid-contact sodium-selective electrodes across all tested textiles.
• Tailoring the physicochemical properties of textile materials is necessary for extending this technique to environmental ion analysis.

Conclusions:

• Textile-based micro-volume sampling presents a novel, simple, and cost-effective approach for direct chemical analysis of small sample volumes.
• This method opens new avenues for on-body sensing and allows for efficient screening of textiles to identify materials suitable for specific sensing applications.
• Further research into material modification is required to optimize textile-based sampling for a broader range of environmental analytes.