Tattoo-based Potentiometric Ion-selective Sensors For Epidermal PH ...

Tattoo-based potentiometric ion-selective sensors for epidermal pH monitoring

Amay J. Bandodkar,a Vinci W. S. Hung,ab Wenzhao Jia,a Gabriela Valdés-Ramírez,a Joshua R. Windmiller,a Alexandra G. Martinez,a Julian Ramírez,a Garrett Chan,a Kagan Kermanb and Joseph Wang*a Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

a Department of Nanoengineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0448, USA E-mail: josephwang@ucsd.edu

b Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada

Abstract

This article presents the fabrication and characterization of novel tattoo-based solid-contact ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) for non-invasive potentiometric monitoring of epidermal pH levels. The new fabrication approach combines commercially available temporary transfer tattoo paper with conventional screen printing and solid-contact polymer ISE methodologies. The resulting tattoo-based potentiometric sensors exhibit rapid and sensitive response to a wide range of pH changes with no carry-over effects. Furthermore, the tattoo ISE sensors endure repetitive mechanical deformation, which is a key requirement of wearable and epidermal sensors. The flexible and conformal nature of the tattoo sensors enable them to be mounted on nearly any exposed skin surface for real-time pH monitoring of the human perspiration, as illustrated from the response during a strenuous physical activity. The resulting tattoo-based ISE sensors offer considerable promise as wearable potentiometric sensors suitable for diverse applications.

• This article is part of the themed collection: 2013's Top 25 most read Analyst articles

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