Silk Nanofibers-Based Soft and Degradable Capacitive Pressure Sensor Arrays

• Published in: IEEE sensors letters Vol. 7; no. 5; pp. 1 - 4
• Main Authors: John, Dina Anna, Parameswaran, Chithra, Sandhu, Sofia, Dahiya, Ravinder
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Piscataway IEEE 01.05.2023; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Automation; Biocompatibility; biodegradability; Capacitance; Capacitive sensors; Degradation; electrospinning; Fourier transforms; Hysteresis; Manufacturing engineering; Nanofibers; Performance measurement; Plasters; pressure mapping; pressure sensor; Pressure sensors; Prostheses; Recovery time; response time; Robotics; Sensitivity; Sensor arrays; Sensor materials; Sensors; Silk; Surgical implants; Wound healing
• ISSN: 2475-1472; 2475-1472
• DOI: 10.1109/LSENS.2023.3270665

Highly sensitive pressure sensors with features such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, and flexibility are needed in applications such as robotics, prosthesis, medical implants, and wearable electronics. However, due to material limitations or technological bottlenecks, it is often challenging to fabricate pressure sensors with these attributes at the same time. Herein, we present biodegradable silk/PEO/yeast nanofibers-based soft capacitive pressure sensor array (2×2). The electrospun nanofibers used here have about 150% enhanced crystallinity, as confirmed by X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy. The performance metrics of the sensor array such as sensitivity (∼0.18 kPa −1 ), hysteresis (<16%), minimum response (∼0.8 s), and recovery time (∼1 s) show its suitability for application such as smart plasters used for accelerated wound healing. Further, the degradability studies confirm the quick degradation of sensors, which can also be potentially controlled with suitable packaging.