Potentiometric pH Sensor Based on Flexible Screen-Printable Polyaniline Composite for Textile-Based Microfluidic...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biomedical Engineering
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Skin pH monitoring is crucial for wound healing, dermatitis detection, and sports medicine.
• Integrating conventional sensors into wearable platforms presents significant challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a flexible, textile-based, screen-printed electrode system for biosensing.
• To demonstrate flexible polyaniline (PANI) composite-based potentiometric sensors for real-time pH measurement on a textile substrate.

Main Methods:

• Screen-printing of flexible polyaniline (PANI) composite-based potentiometric sensors on a textile substrate.
• Optimization of PANI/dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid/screen-printing ink composite.
• Comparison of sensor performance with electropolymerized and drop-cast PANI sensors using open circuit potential measurements.
• Integration of the sensor into a screen-printed microfluidic channel.

Main Results:

• Optimized PANI composite sensors exhibited high sensitivity between pH 3-10.
• A PANI emeraldine base composite showed linear sensitivity of -27.9 mV/pH, exceeding previous flexible screen-printed sensors.
• A PANI emeraldine salt composite demonstrated even higher sensitivity (-42.6 mV/pH), though with less linearity.
• The sensor was successfully integrated with textile-based microfluidic channels for sample isolation.

Conclusions:

• This work presents the first fully screen-printed flexible PANI composite pH sensor on a textile substrate.
• The developed sensor system is suitable for wearable, micro cloth-based analytical devices.
• The sensor offers potential for real-time monitoring in various biomedical applications.