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. 2022 Mar 6;12(3):164.
doi: 10.3390/bios12030164.

Self-Powered Wearable Biosensor in a Baby Diaper for Monitoring Neonatal Jaundice through a Hydrovoltaic-Biosensing Coupling Effect of ZnO Nanoarray

Zirui Ning  1 , Zhihe Long  2 , Guangyou Yang  1 , Lili Xing  1 , Xinyu Xue  1
Affiliations

Self-Powered Wearable Biosensor in a Baby Diaper for Monitoring Neonatal Jaundice through a Hydrovoltaic-Biosensing Coupling Effect of ZnO Nanoarray

Zirui Ning et al. Biosensors (Basel). .

Abstract

Neonatal jaundice refers to the abnormality of bilirubin metabolism for newborns, and wearable transcutaneous bilirubin meters for real-time measuring the bilirubin concentration is an insistent demand for the babies' parents and doctors. In this paper, a self-powered wearable biosensor in a baby diaper for real-time monitoring neonatal jaundice has been realized by the hydrovoltaic-biosensing coupling effect of ZnO nanoarray. Without external power supply, the system can work independently, and the hydrovoltaic output can be treated as both the power source and biosensing signal. The working mechanism is that the hydrovoltaic output arises from the urine flowing on ZnO nanoarray and the enzymatic reaction on the surface can influence the output. The sensing information can be transmitted through a wireless transmitter, and thus the parents and doctors can treat the neonatal jaundice of babies in time. This work can potentially promote the development of next generation of biosensors and physiological monitoring system, and expand the scope of self-powered technique and smart healthcare area.

Keywords: ZnO nanoarray; hydrovoltaic effect; intelligent diaper; neonatal jaundice monitoring; self-powered.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) The experimental design of self-powered wearable biosensor in baby diaper for monitoring neonatal jaundice. (b) Manufacturing process of ZnO nanoarray on PDMS film.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Morphology and microstructure of the self-powered wearable biosensor in baby diaper. (a) Side view of the flexible device. (b) Top view of the device. (c,d) The device embedded in baby diaper. (e–h) SEM images of ZnO nanoarray.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The working mechanism of the self-powered wearable biosensor. (a,b) The power generating process. (c) Molecular flowing along ZnO nanowire. (d) The output voltage of the device in different pH value aqueous solution. (e,f) The biosensing process for detecting bilirubin.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(a) The sodium bilirubin biosensing performance of the self-powered wearable biosensor. (b) The response of the device. (c) Control experiment of the device eliminate primary cell effect. (d) The repeatability of the device. (e–k) The response of the device against sodium urate, urea and NaCl.
Figure 5
Figure 5
(a) The output of the device at different temperatures. (b,c) The biosensing behavior and response of the device against small lactate concentration change. (d,e) The limit of detection of the device. (f) The biosensing behavior of the device in mixed solution (approximately urine).
Figure 6
Figure 6
(a) Circuit diagram for sensing information transmission. (b,c) After dropping sodium bilirubin solution on the diaper, the concentration can be read out from the number of LED lights.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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