title: Temperature- and pH-sensitive wearable materials for monitoring foot ulcers.
abstract: Foot ulcers account for 15% of comorbidities associated with diabetes. Presently, no device allows the status of foot ulcers to be continuously monitored when patients are not hospitalized. In this study, we describe a temperature and a pH sensor capable of monitoring diabetic foot and venous leg ulcers developed in the frame of the seventh framework program European Union project SWAN-iCare (smart wearable and autonomous negative pressure device for wound monitoring and therapy). Temperature is measured by exploiting the variations in the electrical resistance of a nanocomposite consisting of multiwalled carbon nanotubes and poly(styrene-b-(ethylene-co-butylene)-b-styrene). The pH sensor used a graphene oxide (GO) layer that changes its electrical potential when pH changes. The temperature sensor has a sensitivity of ~85 Ω/°C in the range 25°C-50°C and a high repeatability (maximum standard deviation of 0.1% over seven repeated measurements). For a GO concentration of 4 mg/mL, the pH sensor has a sensitivity of ~42 mV/pH and high linearity (R2=0.99).
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa; Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Council of Research.
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Salvo
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Calisi
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa.
authors.forename: Bernardo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Melai
authors.affiliation: Wound Healing Research Unit, Department of Dermatology, University of Pisa.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dini
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa.
authors.forename: Clara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Paoletti
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa.
authors.forename: Tommaso
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lomonaco
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pucci
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Di Francesco
authors.affiliation: Diabetic Foot Section, Department of Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Piaggesi
authors.affiliation: Wound Healing Research Unit, Department of Dermatology, University of Pisa.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Romanelli
mesh_terms: D017719:Diabetic Foot / Q000175:diagnosis; D004867:Equipment Design; D016523:Foot Ulcer / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006108:Graphite; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D050997:Nanomedicine / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D011095:Polyethylenes / Q000737:chemistry; D011137:Polystyrenes / Q000737:chemistry; D011312:Pressure; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D011095:Polyethylenes; D011137:Polystyrenes; C050192:styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene-block copolymer; D006108:Graphite
keywords: diabetic foot ulcer; wearable sensors; wound pH; wound temperature