Adhesive free, conformable and washable carbon nanotube fabric electrodes for biosensing
Source abstract
Abstract
Abstract Skin-mounted wearable electronics are attractive for continuous health monitoring and human-machine interfacing. The commonly used pre-gelled rigid and bulky electrodes cause discomfort and are unsuitable for continuous long-term monitoring applications. Here, we design carbon nanotubes (CNTs)-based electrodes that can be fabricated using different textile manufacturing processes. We propose woven and braided electrode design using CNTs wrapped textile yarns which are highly conformable to skin and measure a high-fidelity electrocardiography (ECG) signal. The skin-electrode impedance analysis revealed size-dependent behavior. To demonstrate outstanding wearability, we designed a seamless knit electrode that can be worn as a bracelet. The designed CNT-based dry electrodes demonstrated record high signal-to-noise ratios and were very stable against motion artifacts. The durability test of the electrodes exhibited robustness to laundering and practicality for reusable and sustainable applications.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials · Conducting polymers and applications · Muscle activation and electromyography studies
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
References (68)
Show source-provided references
1. Son, D. et al. An integrated self-healable electronic skin system fabricated via dynamic reconstruction of a nanostructured conducting network. Nat. Nanotechnol. 13, 1057–1065 (2018).10.1038/s41565-018-0244-6 ↗
2. Gao, Y., Yu, L., Yeo, J. C. & Lim, C. T. Flexible hybrid sensors for health monitoring: materials and mechanisms to render wearability. Adv. Mater. 32, 1902133 (2020).10.1002/adma.201902133 ↗
3. Yamamoto, Y. et al. Efficient skin temperature sensor and stable gel-less sticky ECG sensor for a wearable flexible healthcare patch. Adv. Healthc. Mater. 6, 1700495 (2017).10.1002/adhm.201700495 ↗
4. Kim, T., Park, J., Sohn, J., Cho, D. & Jeon, S. Bioinspired, highly stretchable, and conductive dry adhesives based on 1D-2D hybrid carbon nanocomposites for all-in-one ECG electrodes. ACS Nano 10, 4770–4778 (2016).10.1021/acsnano.6b01355 ↗
5. Liu, Y. et al. Soft conductive micropillar electrode arrays for biologically relevant electrophysiological recording. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 115, 11718–11723 (2018).10.1073/pnas.1810827115 ↗
6. Huang, C. Y. & Chiu, C. W. Facile fabrication of a stretchable and flexible nanofiber carbon film-sensing electrode by electrospinning and its application in smart clothing for ECG and EMG monitoring. ACS Appl Electron Mater. 3, 676–686 (2021).10.1021/acsaelm.0c00841 ↗
7. Sinha, S. K. et al. Screen-printed PEDOT:PSS electrodes on commercial finished textiles for electrocardiography. ACS Appl Mater. Interfaces 9, 37524–37528 (2017).10.1021/acsami.7b09954 ↗
8. Fu, Y., Zhao, J., Dong, Y. & Wang, X. Dry electrodes for human bioelectrical signal monitoring. Sens. (Switz.) 20, 3651 (2020).10.3390/s20133651 ↗
9. Zhao, Y. et al. Ultra-conformal skin electrodes with synergistically enhanced conductivity for long-time and low-motion artifact epidermal electrophysiology. Nat. Commun. 12, 4880 (2021).10.1038/s41467-021-25152-y ↗
10. Qiu, J. et al. A bioinspired, durable, and nondisposable transparent graphene skin electrode for electrophysiological signal detection. ACS Mater. Lett. 2, 999–1007 (2020).10.1021/acsmaterialslett.0c00203 ↗
11. Ferrari, L. M. et al. Ultraconformable temporary tattoo electrodes for electrophysiology. Adv. Sci. 5, 1700771 (2018).10.1002/advs.201700771 ↗
12. Leleux, P. et al. Ionic liquid gel-assisted electrodes for long-term cutaneous recordings. Adv. Healthc. Mater. 3, 1377–1380 (2014).10.1002/adhm.201300614 ↗
13. Fayyaz Shahandashti, P., Pourkheyrollah, H., Jahanshahi, A. & Ghafoorifard, H. Highly conformable stretchable dry electrodes based on inexpensive flex substrate for long-term biopotential (EMG/ECG) monitoring. Sens Actuators A Phys. 295, 678–686 (2019).10.1016/j.sna.2019.06.041 ↗
14. Stauffer, F. et al. Skin conformal polymer electrodes for clinical ECG and EEG recordings. Adv. Healthc. Mater. 7, 1700994 (2018).10.1002/adhm.201700994 ↗
15. Yao, S. & Zhu, Y. Nanomaterial-enabled dry electrodes for electrophysiological sensing: a review. JOM 68, 1145–1155 (2016).10.1007/s11837-016-1818-0 ↗
16. Wang, Y. et al. Electrically compensated, tattoo-like electrodes for epidermal electrophysiology at scale. Sci. Adv. 6, eabd0996 (2020).10.1126/sciadv.abd0996 ↗
17. Ershad, F. et al. Ultra-conformal drawn-on-skin electronics for multifunctional motion artifact-free sensing and point-of-care treatment. Nat. Commun. 11, 3823 (2020).10.1038/s41467-020-17619-1 ↗
18. Chi, Y. M., Jung, T. P. & Cauwenberghs, G. Dry-contact and noncontact biopotential electrodes: methodological review. IEEE Rev. Biomed. Eng. 3, 106–119 (2010).10.1109/RBME.2010.2084078 ↗
19. Nawrocki, R. A. et al. Self-adhesive and ultra-conformable, Sub-300 nm dry thin-film electrodes for surface monitoring of biopotentials. Adv. Funct. Mater. 28, 1803279 (2018).10.1002/adfm.201803279 ↗
20. Sim, K. et al. An epicardial bioelectronic patch made from soft rubbery materials and capable of spatiotemporal mapping of electrophysiological activity. Nat. Electron 3, 775–784 (2020).10.1038/s41928-020-00493-6 ↗
21. Deng, J. et al. Electrical bioadhesive interface for bioelectronics. Nat. Mater. 20, 229–236 (2021).10.1038/s41563-020-00814-2 ↗
22. Zhang, L. et al. Fully organic compliant dry electrodes self-adhesive to skin for long-term motion-robust epidermal biopotential monitoring. Nat. Commun. 11, 4683 (2020).10.1038/s41467-020-18503-8 ↗
23. Wicaksono, I. et al. A tailored, electronic textile conformable suit for large-scale spatiotemporal physiological sensing in vivo. npj Flex. Electron 4, 5 (2020).10.1038/s41528-020-0068-y ↗
24. Marion, J. S. et al. Thermally drawn highly conductive fibers with controlled elasticity. Adv. Mater. 34, 2201081 (2022).10.1002/adma.202201081 ↗
25. Qu, Y. et al. Superelastic multimaterial electronic and photonic fibers and devices via thermal drawing. Adv. Mater. 30, 1707251 (2018).10.1002/adma.201707251 ↗
26. Dong, C. et al. High-efficiency super-elastic liquid metal based triboelectric fibers and textiles. Nat. Commun. 11, 3537 (2020).10.1038/s41467-020-17345-8 ↗
27. Jin, H. et al. Highly durable nanofiber-reinforced elastic conductors for skin-tight electronic textiles. ACS Nano 13, 7905–7912 (2019).10.1021/acsnano.9b02297 ↗
28. Yan, W. et al. Single fibre enables acoustic fabrics via nanometre-scale vibrations. Nature 603, 616–623 (2022).10.1038/s41586-022-04476-9 ↗
29. Li, B. M. et al. Influence of armband form factors on wearable ECG monitoring performance. IEEE Sens J. 21, 11046–11060 (2021).10.1109/JSEN.2021.3059997 ↗
30. Wang, L. et al. Weaving sensing fibers into electrochemical fabric for real-time health monitoring. Adv. Funct. Mater. 28, 1804456 (2018).10.1002/adfm.201804456 ↗
31. Jin, H. et al. Enhancing the performance of stretchable conductors for E-textiles by controlled ink permeation. Adv. Mater. 29, 1605848 (2017).10.1002/adma.201605848 ↗
32. Yapici, M. K., Alkhidir, T., Samad, Y. A. & Liao, K. Graphene-clad textile electrodes for electrocardiogram monitoring. Sens Actuators B Chem. 221, 1469–1474 (2015).10.1016/j.snb.2015.07.111 ↗
33. Wang, C. et al. Advanced carbon for flexible and wearable electronics. Adv. Mater. 31, 1801072 (2019).10.1002/adma.201801072 ↗
34. Trovato, V. et al. Sol-gel approach to incorporate millimeter-long carbon nanotubes into fabrics for the development of electrical-conductive textiles. Mater. Chem. Phys. 240, 122218 (2020).10.1016/j.matchemphys.2019.122218 ↗
35. Yang, J. C. et al. Electronic skin: recent progress and future prospects for skin-attachable devices for health monitoring, robotics, and prosthetics. Adv. Mater. 31, 1904765 (2019).10.1002/adma.201904765 ↗
36. Lee, S. M. et al. Self-adhesive epidermal carbon nanotube electronics for tether-free long-term continuous recording of biosignals. Sci. Rep. 4, 6074 (2014).10.1038/srep06074 ↗
37. Liu, B. et al. Wearable carbon nanotubes-based polymer electrodes for ambulatory electrocardiographic measurements. Sens Actuators A Phys. 265, 79–85 (2017).10.1016/j.sna.2017.08.036 ↗
38. Liu, B., Luo, Z., Zhang, W., Tu, Q. & Jin, X. Silver nanowire-composite electrodes for long-term electrocardiogram measurements. Sens Actuators A Phys. 247, 459–464 (2016).10.1016/j.sna.2016.06.008 ↗
39. Koo, J. H. et al. Wearable electrocardiogram monitor using carbon nanotube electronics and color-tunable organic light-emitting diodes. ACS Nano 11, 10032–10041 (2017).10.1021/acsnano.7b04292 ↗
40. Li, B. M. et al. Iron-on carbon nanotube (CNT) thin films for biosensing E-textile applications. Carbon N. Y 168, 673–683 (2020).10.1016/j.carbon.2020.06.057 ↗
41. Taylor, L. W. et al. Washable, sewable, all-carbon electrodes and signal wires for electronic clothing. Nano Lett. 21, 7093–7099 (2021).10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c01039 ↗
42. Tang, Y. et al. Cotton-based naturally wearable power source for self-powered personal electronics. J. Mater. Sci. 55, 2462–2470 (2020).10.1007/s10853-019-04095-2 ↗
43. Anike, J. C., Belay, K. & Abot, J. L. Effect of twist on the electromechanical properties of carbon nanotube yarns. Carbon N. Y 142, 491–503 (2019).10.1016/j.carbon.2018.10.067 ↗
44. Cherenack, K., Zysset, C., Kinkeldei, T., Münzenrieder, N. & Tröster, G. Woven electronic fibers with sensing and display functions for smart textiles. Adv. Mater. 22, 5178–5182 (2010).10.1002/adma.201002159 ↗
45. Zhao, J. et al. Double-peak mechanical properties of carbon-nanotube fibers. Small 6, 2612–2617 (2010).10.1002/smll.201001120 ↗
46. Hill, F. A., Havel, T. F., Hart, A. J. & Livermore, C. Enhancing the tensile properties of continuous millimeter-scale carbon nanotube fibers by densification. ACS Appl Mater. Interfaces 5, 7198–7207 (2013).10.1021/am401524q ↗
47. Bai, Y. et al. Carbon nanotube bundles with tensile strength over 80 GPa. Nat. Nanotechnol. 13, 589–595 (2018).10.1038/s41565-018-0141-z ↗
48. Uzun, S. et al. Knittable and washable multifunctional MXene-coated cellulose yarns. Adv. Funct. Mater. 29, 1905015 (2019).10.1002/adfm.201905015 ↗
49. Maziz, A. et al. Knitting and weaving artificial muscles. Sci. Adv. 3, e1600327 (2017).10.1126/sciadv.1600327 ↗
50. Ji, F., Li, R. & Qiu, Y. Simulate the dynamic draping behavior of woven and knitted fabrics. J. Ind. Text. 35, 201–215 (2006).10.1177/1528083706055753 ↗
51. Au, K. in Advances in Knitting Technology (ed. Au, K. F.) 213–232 (Woodhead, 2011).10.1533/9780857090621.2.213 ↗
52. Xu, W., Chen, Y., Zhan, H. & Wang, J. N. High-strength carbon nanotube film from improving alignment and densification. Nano Lett. 16, 946–952 (2016).10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b03863 ↗
53. Luo, X. et al. Multifunctional fabrics of carbon nanotube fibers. J. Mater. Chem. A 7, 8790–8797 (2019).10.1039/C9TA01474H ↗
54. Pani, D., Achilli, A. & Bonfiglio, A. Survey on textile electrode technologies for electrocardiographic (ECG) monitoring, from metal wires to polymers. Adv. Mater. Technol. 3, 1800008 (2018).10.1002/admt.201800008 ↗
55. Ankhili, A. et al. Comparative study on conductive knitted fabric electrodes for long-term electrocardiography monitoring: Silver-plated and PEDOT:PSS coated fabrics. Sens. (Switz.) 18, 3890 (2018).10.3390/s18113890 ↗
56. O’Mahony, C. et al. Design, fabrication and skin-electrode contact analysis of polymer microneedle-based ECG electrodes. J. Micromech. Microeng. 26, 084005 (2016).10.1088/0960-1317/26/8/084005 ↗
57. Alizadeh-Meghrazi, M. et al. Evaluation of dry textile electrodes for long-term electrocardiographic monitoring. Biomed. Eng. Online 20, 68 (2021).10.1186/s12938-021-00905-4 ↗
58. Takeshita, T. et al. Relationship between contact pressure and motion artifacts in ECG measurement with electrostatic flocked electrodes fabricated on textile. Sci. Rep. 9, 5897 (2019).10.1038/s41598-019-42027-x ↗
59. Yokus, M. A. & Jur, J. S. Fabric-based wearable dry electrodes for body surface biopotential recording. IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng. 63, 423–430 (2016).10.1109/TBME.2015.2462312 ↗
60. Xu, X., Luo, M., He, P. & Yang, J. Washable and flexible screen printed graphene electrode on textiles for wearable healthcare monitoring. J. Phys. D. Appl Phys. 53, 125402 (2020).10.1088/1361-6463/ab5f4a ↗
61. Zhou, W. et al. Fabrication and impedance measurement of novel metal dry bioelectrode. Sens Actuators A Phys. 201, 127–133 (2013).10.1016/j.sna.2013.06.025 ↗
62. Yu, Q. et al. ECG R-wave peaks marking with simultaneously recorded continuous blood pressure. PLoS One 14, e0214443 (2019).10.1371/journal.pone.0214443 ↗
63. Li, B. M. et al. Textile-integrated liquid metal electrodes for electrophysiological monitoring. Adv. Healthc. Mater. 11, 2200745 (2022).10.1002/adhm.202200745 ↗
64. Afroj, S., Tan, S., Abdelkader, A. M., Novoselov, K. S. & Karim, N. Highly conductive, scalable, and machine washable graphene-based E-textiles for multifunctional wearable electronic applications. Adv. Funct. Mater. 30, 2000293 (2020).10.1002/adfm.202000293 ↗
65. Aly, K., Li, A. & Bradford, P. D. Strain sensing in composites using aligned carbon nanotube sheets embedded in the interlaminar region. Compos Part A Appl Sci. Manuf. 90, 536–548 (2016).10.1016/j.compositesa.2016.08.003 ↗
66. He, N. et al. Pyrolytic-carbon coating in carbon nanotube foams for better performance in supercapacitors. J. Power Sources 343, 492–501 (2017).10.1016/j.jpowsour.2017.01.091 ↗
67. Aly, K. & Bradford, P. D. Real-time impact damage sensing and localization in composites through embedded aligned carbon nanotube sheets. Compos B Eng. 162, 522–531 (2019).10.1016/j.compositesb.2018.12.104 ↗
68. The American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists. AATCC Technical Manual. Research Triangle Park, NC, USA. Test Method 61–2013: Colorfastness to laundering: Accelerated; 86–90 (2011).