An Improved Design for Chemomechanical Sensors: A Piezoresistive Pressure Sensor with a Mechanical Boss

Chemosensors

Jeffrey Bates²  Prashant Tathireddy¹  Sebastian Buetefisch³ 

[1] Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Utah, 50 Central Campus Drive, Room 3280, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA; E-Mail:;Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Utah, 122 Central Campus Drive, Room 304, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA;Department of Nanometrology, Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Bundesallee 100, Braunschweig 38116, Germany; E-Mail:

关键词: hydrogel based sensors;    stimuli response;    hydrogel thickness;    microsensors;    continuous analyte monitoring;    pH response;   

DOI  :  10.3390/chemosensors1030033

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Stimuli-responsive hydrogels can be used to convert miniature pressure sensors into novel chemomechanical sensors via confinement of the hydrogel sample between a porous membrane and a piezoresistive diaphragm. Chemomechanical sensors could prove beneficial in a variety of applications, including continuous monitoring of bioreactors and biomedical systems. In this study, one hydrogel composition with a high sensitivity to changes in pH was tested in two different chemomechanical sensors in order to compare the data obtained from each sensor design. In the first and older chemomechanical sensor design, a prefabricated hydrogel sample is loaded into the sensor chamber using a screw-on cap. In the newer sensor design, a thinner hydrogel is synthesized in situ and is held in place by a silicon boss that is mechanically connected to a piezoresistive diaphragm. The newer design results in a decreased chemomechanical sensor response time (by 60 times), and maintains a high sensitivity to changes in environmental stimuli.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.