Detection of biomarkers associated with body conditions provides in‐depth healthcare information and benefits to disease management, where the key challenge is to develop a minimally invasive platform with the ability to directly detect multiple biomarkers in body fluid. Dermal tattoo biosensor holds the potential to simultaneously detect multiple health‐related biomarkers in skin interstitial fluid because of the features of minimal invasion, easy operation, and equipment‐free result reading. Herein, a colorimetric dermal tattoo biosensor fabricated by a four‐area segmented microneedle patch is developed for multiplexed detection of health‐related biomarkers. The biosensor exhibits color changes in response to the change of biomarker concentration (i.e., pH, glucose, uric acid, and temperature), which can be directly read by naked eyes or captured by a camera for semi‐quantitative measurement. It is demonstrated that the colorimetric dermal tattoo biosensor can simultaneously detect multiple biomarkers in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo, and monitor the changes of the biomarker concentration for at least 4 days, showing its great potential for long‐term health monitoring.
Physiological monitoring can provide detailed information about health conditions, and therefore presents great potentials for personalized healthcare. Flexible miniaturized sensors (FMS) for physiological monitoring have garnered significant attention because of their wide applications in collecting health-related information, evaluating and managing the state of human wellness in long term. In this review, we focus on the time scale of human physiological monitoring, the needs and advances in miniaturized technologies for long-term monitoring in typical applications. We also discuss the rational sample sources of FMS to select proper strategies for specific monitoring cases. Further, existing challenges and promising prospects are also presented.
Ionic conductive hydrogels (ICHs) are emerging as key materials for advanced human‐machine interactions and health monitoring systems due to their unique combination of flexibility, biocompatibility, and electrical conductivity. However, a major challenge remains in developing ICHs that simultaneously exhibit high ionic conductivity, self‐healing, and strong adhesion, particularly under extreme low‐temperature conditions. In this study, a novel ICH composed of sulfobetaine methacrylate, methacrylic acid, TEMPO‐oxidized cellulose nanofibers, sodium alginate, and lithium chloride is presented. The hydrogel is designed with a hydrogen‐bonded and chemically crosslinked network, achieving excellent conductivity (0.49 ± 0.05 S m−1), adhesion (36.73 ± 2.28 kPa), and self‐healing capacity even at −80 °C. Furthermore, the ICHs maintain functionality for over 45 days, showcasing outstanding anti‐freezing properties. This material demonstrates significant potential for non‐invasive, continuous health monitoring, adhering conformally to the skin without signal crosstalk, and enabling real‐time, high‐fidelity signal transmission in human‐machine interactions under cryogenic conditions. These ICHs offer transformative potential for the next generation of multimodal sensors, broadening application possibilities in harsh environments, including extreme weather and outer space.
Stretchable polymeric fibers have enormous potential, but their production requires rigorous environmental controls and considerable resource consumption. It's also challenging for elastic polymers with high performance but poor spinnability, such as silicones like polydimethylsiloxane and Ecoflex. We present a hydrogel-assisted microfluidic spinning (HAMS) method to address these challenges by encapsulating their prepolymers within arbitrarily long, protective, and sacrificable hydrogel fibers. By designing simple apparatuses and manipulating the fluidic and interfacial self-adaptations of oil/water flows, we successfully produce fibers with widely controllable diameter (0.04 to 3.70 millimeters), notable length, high quality (e.g., smooth surface, whole-length uniformity, and rounded section), and remarkable stretchability (up to 1300%) regardless of spinnability. Uniquely, this method allows an easy, effective, and controllable reshaping production of helical fibers with exceptional stretchability and mechanical compliance. We deeply reveal the mechanisms in producing these fibers and demonstrate their potential as textile components, optoelectronic devices, and actuators. The HAMS method would be a powerful tool for mass-producing high-quality stretchable fibers.