Development of a Textile Based Protein Sensor for Monitoring the Healing Progress of a Wound

This article focuses on the design and fabrication of flexible textile-based protein sensors to be embedded in wound dressings. Chronic wounds require continuous monitoring to prevent further complications and to determine the best course of treatment in the case of infection. As proteins are essential for the progression of wound healing, they can be used as an indicator of wound status. Through measuring protein concentrations, the sensor can assess and monitor the wound condition continuously as a function of time. The protein sensor consists of electrodes that are directly screen printed using both silver and carbon composite inks on polyester nonwoven fabric which was deliberately selected as this is one of the common backing fabrics currently used in wound dressings. Three sensor designs were investigated to determine if any were suitable for protein detection. These sensors were experimentally evaluated and compared to each other by using albumin protein in phosphate buffered saline (PBS). A comprehensive set of cyclic voltammetry measurements were used to determine the optimal sensor design to provide the measurement of protein in solution. The best sensor was comprised of only silver conductive ink present to form the tracks outside the interface zone and a carbon only layer in the working and counter electrodes at the interface zone. This design prevents the formation of silver dioxide and protects the sensor from rapid decay, which allows for the recording of consecutive measurements using the same sensor. The chosen printed protein sensor was able to detect BSA at varying concentrations ranging from 30-0.3 mg/ml with a sensitivity of 0.0026µA/M.

CoSe2@N-Doped Graphene Nanocomposite High-Efficiency Counter Electrode For Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Photovoltaics is defined as a group of solar cells that convert solar energy into electricity. Among these cells, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have received considerable attention due to of their low cost and high efficiency for energy conversion. In present study, CoSe2@N-doped graphene nanocomposite has been prepared in an inert atmosphere and used as a DSSC counter electrode. The fabricated nanocomposite was characterised using analytical techniques including FTIR, TGA, XRD, Raman, XPS, and BET. The assembled DSSC obtains a photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7.65%, which is higher than the PCE (7.19%) of the Pt electrode assembly cell under the same conditions. The promising performance of the fabricated counter electrodes may be due to the excellent surface area of the nanocomposites, the doping of hetroatomes which provide the active sites to boost the catalytic activities towards I3- reduction.

The Effect of Silicon Grade and Electrode Architecture on the Performance of Advanced Anodes for Next Generation Lithium-Ion Cells

To increase the specific capacity of anodes for lithium-ion cells, advanced active materials, such as silicon, can be utilized. Silicon has an order of magnitude higher specific capacity compared to the state-of-the-art anode material graphite; therefore, it is a promising candidate to achieve this target. In this study, different types of silicon nanopowders were introduced as active material for the manufacturing of composite silicon/graphite electrodes. The materials were selected from different suppliers providing different grades of purity and different grain sizes. The slurry preparation, including binder, additives, and active material, was established using a ball milling device and coating was performed via tape casting on a thin copper current collector foil. Composite electrodes with an areal capacity of approximately 1.70 mAh/cm² were deposited. Reference electrodes without silicon were prepared in the same manner, and they showed slightly lower areal capacities. High repetition rate, ultrafast laser ablation was applied to these high-power electrodes in order to introduce line structures with a periodicity of 200 µm. The electrochemical performance of the anodes was evaluated as rate capability and operational lifetime measurements including pouch cells with NMC 622 as counter electrodes. For the silicon/graphite composite electrodes with the best performance, up to 200 full cycles at a C-rate of 1C were achieved until end of life was reached at 80% relative capacity. Additionally, electrochemical impedance spectroscopies were conducted as a function of state of health to correlate the used silicon grade with solid electrolyte interface (SEI) formation and charge transfer resistance values.