A Wearable, Multiplexed Sensor for Real-time and In-situ Monitoring of Wound Biomarkers

Abstract

This paper reports on a wearable, multiplexed electrochemical sensor fabricated on a flexible paper substrate for real-time and in-situ monitoring of four wound biomarkers on a single platform. The fabrication method utilizes a low-cost screen-printing technique in which four working electrodes, one common counter electrode, and one common reference electrode are transfer printed on vinyl paper, which is next integrated with medical gauze. In this paper, we report quantitative measurements of C-reactive protein (which is a marker of the systemic and local inflammation state of chronic wounds) with high specificity and reliability. The novelty of this work lies in developing a multiplexed wound monitoring sensor on a flexible substrate utilizing a simpler and inexpensive fabrication procedure. The sensor exhibits a high sensitivity to C- reactive protein with a limit of detection of 5.8 milligrams per liter. The presented multiplexed wound monitoring patch offers a promising approach to measure the progression of wound healing and the effectiveness of treatment in real-time.