Silk-polyurethane composite based flexible electrochemical biosensing platform for pathogen detection

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biomedical Engineering
• Electrochemistry

Background:

• Flexible and wearable electronics require novel, low-cost, biocompatible substrates.
• Natural biopolymers like Silk offer biocompatibility but lack long-term flexibility.
• Developing robust, flexible substrates is crucial for fabricating advanced electronic devices and sensors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To prepare and characterize a flexible Silk-polyurethane (Silk-PU) composite film for enhanced substrate properties.
• To develop a scalable electrochemical biosensing platform using screen-printing techniques.
• To demonstrate the platform's capability for sensitive pathogen detection and its potential for lab-on-chip integration.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication and characterization of Silk-polyurethane composite films.
• Development of a three-electrode electrochemical sensing system via screen-printing.
• Modification of screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) with gold nanoparticles for pathogen detection.
• Testing the substrate's flexibility and the biosensor's performance with E. coli detection.

Main Results:

• The Silk-PU composite film exhibited excellent long-duration flexibility and robustness, even after rigorous bending tests.
• An electrochemical biosensing platform was successfully developed on the Silk-PU substrate.
• The platform demonstrated highly sensitive detection of E. coli, with a detection limit as low as 0.12 CFU/mL.
• The substrate's properties remained unaffected throughout the functionalization and detection processes.

Conclusions:

• The Silk-PU composite film is a promising flexible, biocompatible substrate for wearable electronics and biosensing applications.
• The developed screen-printed electrochemical biosensor offers a scalable and sensitive platform for pathogen detection.
• The platform's compatibility with microfluidics suggests potential for integrated lab-on-chip devices and multi-pathogen detection.