Biosensors and Bioelectronics: X (Sep 2022)
Fabrication of liquid metal loaded polycaprolactone conductive film for biocompatible and flexible electronics
Abstract
Bioelectronics are crucial for monitoring physiological signals, managing chronic health conditions and assisting surgical procedures, which demand biocompatibility, high conductivity and flexibility. Here, we report a conductive film based on polycaprolactone (PCL) film and liquid metal nanoparticles (LMNPs), denoted as PCL@LMNPs film. We loaded LMNPs onto the nanofibers of PCL film by suction filtration and broke LMNPs through mechanical sintering. Rupture LMNPs formed conductive paths, which provides us opportunities to construct different electronics. The biocompatibility of PCL@LMNPs film was confirmed by skin irritation test on human skin and cell viability test with Hela cells. In addition, the film can be degraded in the simulated body fluid, proving its potential in implantable electronics. What is more, by analyzing resistance change while PCL@LMNPs films was deformed, we can monitor the different action with varied forces applied on the films. We demonstrated flexible sensors based on the PCL@LMNPs films, which can realize weight sensing, sound sensing and breath monitoring. The unique properties of the fabricated PCL@LMNPs films show a great future for use in biocompatible and flexible electronics.