Thermally Drawn CNT-Based Hybrid Nanocomposite Fiber for Electrochemical Sensing

Nowadays, bioelectronic devices are evolving from rigid to flexible materials and substrates, among which thermally-drawn-fiber-based bioelectronics represent promising technologies thanks to their inherent flexibility and seamless integration of multi-functionalities. However, electrochemical sensing within fibers remains a poorly explored area, as it imposes new demands for material properties-both the electrochemical sensitivity and the thermomechanical compatibility with the fiber drawing process. Here, we designed and fabricated microelectrode fibers made of carbon nanotube (CNT)-based hybrid nanocomposites and further evaluated their detailed electrochemical sensing performances. Carbon-black-impregnated polyethylene (CB-CPE) was chosen as the base material, into which CNT was loaded homogeneously in a concentration range of 3.8 to 10 wt%. First, electrical impedance characterization of CNT nanocomposites showed a remarkable decrease of the resistance with the increase in CNT loading ratio, suggesting that CNTs notably increased the effective electrical current pathways inside the composites. In addition, the proof-of-principle performance of fiber-based microelectrodes was characterized for the detection of ferrocenemethanol (FcMeOH) and dopamine (DA), exhibiting an ultra-high sensitivity. Additionally, we further examined the long-term stability of such composite-based electrode in exposure to the aqueous environment, mimicking the in vivo or in vitro settings. Later, we functionalized the surface of the microelectrode fiber with ion-sensitive membranes (ISM) for the selective sensing of Na+ ions. The miniature fiber-based electrochemical sensor developed here holds great potential for standalone point-of-care sensing applications. In the future, taking full advantage of the thermal drawing process, the electrical, optical, chemical, and electrochemical modalities can be all integrated together within a thin strand of fiber. This single fiber can be useful for fundamental multi-mechanistic studies for biological applications and the weaved fibers can be further applied for daily health monitoring as functional textiles.