Bioinspired Cold-Laminated Ultrathin Hydrogels as a Broadly Adaptive Platform for Physiological Monitoring

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biomedical Engineering
• Soft Electronics

Background:

• Conventional hydrogel bioelectronics face limitations in thickness, robustness, and multifunctionality, hindering diverse applications.
• Existing devices struggle with adaptability for both epidermal and implantable uses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel, adaptable hydrogel system for advanced bioelectronic devices.
• To overcome the trade-offs in thickness, robustness, and multifunctionality of current soft bioelectronics.

Main Methods:

• A cold-lamination strategy was employed to interlock a TPU nanomesh within a temperature-responsive hydrogel.
• Fabrication allowed precise control over device thickness (17-90 µm) and tunable mechanical properties.
• The system demonstrated reversible, on-demand adhesion via switchable hydrogen bonds.

Main Results:

• The developed bioelectronics exhibited exceptional conformability, durability, and breathability with large-area scalability.
• Ultrathin hydrogels (17 µm) showed high tensile stress (835.23 kPa) and toughness (1.57 MJ m⁻³).
• The system enabled reliable electrocardiogram monitoring and in vivo arrhythmia detection with 99% accuracy using deep learning.

Conclusions:

• This adaptable hydrogel system offers a universal and scalable strategy for next-generation bioelectronics.
• The technology overcomes limitations of conventional ultrathin films, enabling diverse organ-specific applications.
• The developed bioelectronics show promise for both physiological monitoring and clinical diagnostics.