Laboratory test tubes – CSIC – ARCHIVE
MADRID, 30 November (EUROPA PRESS) –
Researchers at Rey Abdalá University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia have developed a material that mimics human skin in terms of strength, stretchability and sensitivity to collect real-time biological data. This ‘es-kin’ can play an important role in next-generation prostheses, personalized medicine, soft robotics and artificial intelligence, scientists say in the journal Science Advances.
“The ideal electronic skin will mimic the many natural functions of human skin, such as temperature and touch detection, accurately and in real time,” given KAUST Yichen Cai postdoctoral fellow.
However, making properly flexible electronic devices that can perform such delicate tasks while enduring the bumps and scratches of everyday life is a challenge, and every material involved must be carefully designed.
Most electronic skins are made by placing an active nanomaterial (the sensor) on an elastic surface that adheres to human skin. However, the connection between these layers is often too weak, which reduces the durability and sensitivity of the material; on the other hand, if it is too strong, the flexibility becomes limited, making it more likely to add and break the circuit.
“The landscape of skin electronics continues to change at a spectacular pace,” said Cai.
A team led by Cai and colleague Jie Shen has created a durable electronic skin using a hydrogel reinforced with silica nanoparticles as a strong, elastic substrate and a 2D MXene titanium carbide as a detection layer, bonded with highly conductive nanowires.
“Hydrogels contain more than 70 percent water, which makes them very compatible with human skin tissues,” says Shen. By stretching the hydrogel in all directions, applying a layer of nanowires, and then carefully monitoring their release, the researchers will create conductive pathways to the sensor layer that will remain intact even when the material will stretch 28 times its size. original.
Its electronic skin prototype could detect objects at a distance of 20 centimeters, responding to stimuli in less than a tenth of a second, and when used as a pressure sensor, it could distinguish handwriting on it. It continued to function well after 5,000 deformations, recovering about a quarter of a second each time.
“It is an amazing achievement for an electronic skin to maintain its hardness after repeated use – Shen points out – which mimics the elasticity and rapid recovery of human skin.”
Such electronic skins could control a variety of biological information, such as changes in blood pressure, which can be detected from vibrations in the arteries to movements of large limbs and joints. This data can be shared and stored in the cloud via Wi-Fi.
“An obstacle that remains for the widespread use of radical electronic skins in the expansion of high-resolution sensors – adds the leader of the group, Vincent Tung -, however, laser-assisted additive manufacturing offers a new promise “.
“We anticipate a future for this technology beyond biology,” Cai continues. “Extensible sensor tape could one day monitor the structural health of inanimate objects, such as furniture and airplanes.”