Antibacterial Dual Network Hydrogels for Sensing and Human Health Monitoring

Polymer-based conductive hydrogels have the synergistic advantages of high conductivity and tissue-like properties, making them promising candidates for the construction of flexible electronic devices. However, conductive hydrogel materials can easily absorb microorganisms due to their high water content. To address the problem that conductive hydrogels are susceptible to infection by external pathogens when monitoring wounds and when used in implanted organs, tannic acid-borax (TA-B) complexes are introduced into classical dual network polyacrylamide/agarose (PAM/Agar) hydrogels to form PAM/Agar/TA-B hydrogel conductors. These hydrogels are antibacterial and have good mechanical properties, light transmission, electrical conductivity, and adhesion. TA-B increases the compressive stress of the PAM/Agar/TA-B hydrogel by 58.14% compared to a PAM/Agar hydrogel. The PAM/Agar/TA-B hydrogel can be used as an electronic conductor for electronic skin and wearable sensors. Outstanding biocompatibility allows the hydrogel to be used as a monitoring device at wounds to monitor heartbeat, skin wounds, and internal tissue status in real time. In summary, an antibacterial strain sensing matrix that is safe for human health monitoring is developed.