Abstract
The rapid fabrication of artificial skin patches with multiple functions has attracted great attention in various research fields, such as personal health monitoring, tissue engineering and robotics. Intertwined-network structures (blood vessel, lymphatic and nerve networks) play a key role in endowing skin with multiple functions. Thus, considerable efforts have been devoted to fabricating artificial skin patches with mimetic internal channels. Here, we present a one-step 3D printed intelligent silk fibroin artificial skin (i-skin) with built-in electronics and microfluidics. By simultaneously extruding functional materials in polyurethane-silk fibroin precursor using a 3D bioprinter, the i-skin and its internal channels can be fabricated within one step. Photonic crystals (PCs) were integrated into the microfluidic channel, enabling the i-skin to sense multiple biomarkers. Moreover, the printed electronics give the i-skin remarkable conductivity, endowing the i-skin with the capability of sensitive motion sensing. Notably, by using the built-in electronics and PC-integrated microfluidics, sensitive sensing of motions and specific cardiac biomarkers can be achieved simultaneously in the i-skin, indicating the remarkable prospects of the printed multi-functional i-skin in health care-related biomedical fields.
Published Version
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