MXene-Powered Terahertz Metamaterials as a Real-Time Biosensing Platform for In Vivo Thrombus Monitoring

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Cardiovascular Diseases
• Terahertz Spectroscopy

Background:

• Precise in vivo thrombus monitoring is crucial for cardiovascular disease (CVD) treatment.
• Terahertz (THz) spectroscopy offers rapid, label-free analysis but faces challenges in real blood environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an advanced thrombus sensing platform for improved in vivo monitoring.
• To enhance early thrombus detection sensitivity and real-time sensing capabilities.

Main Methods:

• Development of a hybrid metamaterial platform powered by MXene.
• Utilizing the THz response from interfacial charge transfer between MXene and thrombus.
• Application and testing in patients undergoing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy.

Main Results:

• The MXene-powered THz platform demonstrated high sensitivity (94.7%) and accuracy (92.3%) in thrombus diagnosis.
• The platform surpassed existing clinical methods like thromboelastogram and activated clotting time (ACT).
• Achieved faster in vivo thrombus detection (6 min) and anticoagulant feedback (2 min) compared to ACT.

Conclusions:

• The developed platform shows significant potential for precise, personalized anticoagulation strategies in CVD patients.
• It offers superior real-time monitoring capabilities, reducing the risk of thrombus complications.
• This technology advances biomedical engineering applications of THz spectroscopy for critical care.