A Biocompatible Wearable Potentiometric Sensing Chip for in Situ Wound Monitoring

In situ monitoring of biomarkers in wound fluids using wearable potentiometric sensors is especially significant for early wound infection prediction and effective wound management. However, the antifouling abilities of such sensors in wound fluids have rarely been investigated. Herein, we propose a simple and versatile strategy based on a self-adhesive hydrogel coating to impart antifouling capabilities to a wearable potentiometric sensing chip for on-body wound monitoring. A catechol-functionalized zwitterionic hydrogel is synthesized via a dopamine-triggered gelation strategy, which exhibits a low swellability, good biocompatibility, and high stretchability. Notably, owing to its self-adhesive properties, a thin hydrogel layer could be readily immobilized on various surfaces of the sensing chip without elaborate modification protocols. Using a polymeric membrane-based H+-sensing chip as a model, the hydrogel-coated chip exhibits significantly enhanced antifouling performance and decreased cytotoxicity compared to the pristine one. These improvements are evidenced by the markedly suppressed adsorption of bacteria, proteins, and cells, and an ∼35% increase in cell viability. In situ bacterial infection monitoring in a series of on-body experiments indicates the capability of the proposed antifouling sensing chip to measure both spatial and temporal pH changes in wound microenvironments.