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August 29, 2024 Wei Gao’s team from the Department of Medical Engineering at California Institute of Technology published a new research paper in Science (impact factor: 44.7), " A smart mask for exhaled breath condensate harvesting and analysis ". This mechanically flexible microfluidic smart mask system achieves continuous exhaled breath condensation, automatic EBC capture and transport, and real-time in situ EBC biomarker analysis.
The research team developed a smart mask called EBCare, which integrates self-cooling strategies, automated microfluidics and biosensors for wearable exhaled breath condensate (EBC) sampling and metabolite analysis.
EBCare enables continuous exhaled breath condensation, automated EBC capture and transmission, and real-time in situ EBC biomarker analysis.
Dual cooling strategy:
A passive cooling strategy combining hydrogel evaporation and radiative cooling, using a ceramic aluminate-polymer hybrid metamaterial with high thermal conductivity and ideal radiative cooling properties as the main structural framework.
Bio-inspired microfluidics:
The inner surface of the device has a hydrophilic interface, similar to xylem, which is critical for EBC collected by automatic circulation through microfluidics.
Radiochemical biosensor array:
An electrochemical sensor array is integrated for simultaneous in situ multiplex analysis of EBC.
A 14-hour study was conducted to track the activities of healthy individuals, such as exercise, diet, office work, and napping, to evaluate the long-term applicability of EBCare for continuous EBC sampling and analysis in daily life.
Multiple human studies have shown that the analyte information collected by EBCare has great potential in personalized healthcare applications.
Tissue engineering applications:
Electrospinning technology is widely used to prepare polyurethane fibers that mimic the structure of natural extracellular matrix (ECMs), which is essential for tissue repair and reconstruction.
These fibers can promote the adhesion and proliferation of seed cells and meet the requirements of tissue engineering.
Biomedical materials:
Polyurethane nanofibers prepared by electrospinning technology can effectively promote cell adhesion, growth and proliferation due to their mechanical strength, thermal stability and biodegradability similar to those of the human body, as well as their similarity to the extracellular matrix of human tissue, thereby promoting the repair of tissues and organs.
Electrospun oriented nanofibers:
In tissue engineering, electrospun oriented nanofibers are widely used in regenerative medicine because of their advantages such as being able to mimic the natural structure of the extracellular matrix.
These fiber scaffolds have highly consistent fiber alignment directions, which can promote cell adhesion and migration through contact guidance. The combination with cells or growth factors can further promote cell proliferation and differentiation, and ultimately achieve tissue regeneration.
Unlike traditional time-consuming laboratory EBC tests or wearable biosensors that analyze sweat or saliva, EBCare is able to continuously collect complex molecular information in exhaled breath with high selectivity and high temporal resolution.
EBCare can be seamlessly integrated into daily masks, using an unpowered dual cooling strategy to achieve stable and continuous exhaled breath condensation, a preset capillary force gradient design to ensure automatic sampling and refreshing of EBC, and a disposable multiplex electrochemical biosensor array for high-precision dynamic monitoring of exhaled breath biomarkers during daily activities.
Electrospinning Nanofibers Article Source:
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adn6471
