Piezoresistive Chemical Sensors Based on Functionalized Hydrogels

Thin films of analyte-specific hydrogels were combined with microfabricated piezoresistive pressure transducers to obtain chemomechanical sensors that can serve as selective biochemical sensors for a continuous monitoring of metabolites. The gel swelling pressure has been monitored in simulated physiological solutions by means of the output signal of piezoresistive sensors. The interference by fructose, human serum albumin, pH, and ionic concentration on glucose sensing was studied. With the help of a database containing the calibration curves of the hydrogel-based sensors at different values of pH and ionic strength, the corrected values of pH and glucose concentration were determined using a novel calibration algorithm.