Poster W1 - Development of a Sacrificial Cotton Candy-Based Porous Piezoresistive Sensor for Pressure Biosensing

Introduction: Advanced research into biomedical pressure sensors continues to develop for various applications including dental probes for periodontal disease. However, existing solutions have the potential be very expensive. An affordable solution to developing porous elastomers is important for the development of cost-effective pressure sensors for biomedical applications. Cotton candy has the potential to be a solution to creating a porous elastomeric matrix, as it is an easily and inexpensively manufactured dissolvable nanofiber.

Materials and

Methods: Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was combined with carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and tetrahydrofuran (THF) was added to dilute the solution. Cotton candy is added to the solution. After curing at room temperature, the produced matrix was left in water overnight to dissolve the cotton candy. A circuit is inkjet-printed on polyimide using silver ink, and the matrix is adhered on top of the circuit.

Results, Conclusions, and Discussions: A porous PDMS-CNT matrix offers an ideal structural framework for a piezoresistive pressure sensor. This matrix provides mechanical robustness and facilitates excellent sensitivity to pressure variations. Through its porous architecture formed from dissolving the cotton candy structure, the device allows for extra compression in response to external stimuli, enabling a wide range of pressure detection.

This device was designed for use in a dental probe for pressure sensing applications when diagnosing periodontal disease. The PDMS-CNT matrix has the potential to be used in advanced pressure biosensing applications. The use of cotton candy as a sacrificial structure to create a porous PDMS matrix provides a simple and cost-effective method of developing a highly compressible pressure sensor.

Acknowledgements (Optional): This work is supported by National Science Foundation (ECCS #2020486), Small Scale Systems Integration and Packaging (S3IP) Center of Excellence, Binghamton University’s Health Sciences Transdisciplinary Area of Excellence and Start-up funds.