Highly Sensitive, Printable Nanostructured Conductive Polymer Wireless Sensor for Food Spoilage Detection

Abstract

Near-field communication (NFC) labeling technology has been recently used to endow smartphones with nonline-of-sight sensing functions to improve the environment, human health, and quality of life. For applications in detecting food spoilage, the development of a sensor with high enough sensitivity to act as a switch for an NFC tag remains a challenge. In this Letter, we developed a nanostructured conductive polymer-based gas sensor with high sensitivity of Δ R/ R = 225% toward 5 ppm ammonia NH and unprecedented sensitivities of 46% and 17% toward 5 ppm putrescine and cadaverine, respectively. The gas sensor plays a critical role as a sensitive switch in the circuit of the NFC tag and enables a smartphone to readout meat spoilage when the concentration of biogenic amines is over a preset threshold. We envision the broad potential use of such intelligent sensing for food status monitoring applications in daily life, storage and supply chains.

MXenes and Their Applications in Wearable Sensors

“…In the field of wearable electronics, especially in the field of eskin, in addition to the sensing demand for force and biological information, it is desirable to be able to transfer environmental factors significantly and gas sensing is a significant challenge for the next generation of wearable sensors (Ma Z. et al, 2018). The unique surface structure of MXenes is very suitable for adsorbing various gas molecules, thus affecting its overall conductivity.…”

Properties of conductive polymer hydrogels and their application in sensors

“…As an example, Ma et al . reported a highly sensitive PAni‐based gas sensor for detecting food spoilage . The p ‐toluene sulfonate hexahydrate (PTS)‐doped PAni film offers a higher surface‐to‐volume ratio, which provides more active sites for gas adsorption and reaction [Fig.…”

“…The polymers that made up CPHs mainly include poly(3,4ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), polythiophene (PTh), polypyrrole (PPy), and polyaniline (PAni), which form into CPHs by constructing covalently or physically crosslinked hydrophilic network . CPHs, synergizing the advantages of hydrogels and organic conductors, exhibit unique electrical, chemical, and mechanical properties, which endow CPHs great potentials in energy storage device, tissue engineering, and different types of sensors …”

“…[5][6][7][8] CPHs, synergizing the advantages of hydrogels and organic conductors, exhibit unique electrical, chemical, and mechanical properties, which endow CPHs great potentials in energy storage device, [9][10][11] tissue engineering, 12 and different types of sensors. [13][14][15] As a class of unique smart materials or responsive materials, CPHs have been widely adopted in advanced sensor technologies that can transform the collected information into electrical signals or other required forms. CPHs undergo physical/ chemical transitions when exposed to changes in ambient conditions such as temperature, pressure, gas, light, moisture, pH, and chemical compounds.…”

Electroconductive hydrogels for biomedical applications

“…Further research regarding multiplexed electrodes that detect a variety of biomolecules in real time with good selectivity, high sensitivity, and even printability (L. Li et al, ; Z. Ma et al, ) has signified the future trends of EH‐based biosensors and bio‐detect devices. These technologies provide potential possibilities for multiplexed biosensors for human health monitoring and improvement.…”