4.3.3 - Soft and Stretchable Carbon Flower Sensors Detect Hormones and Neurotransmitters at High Sensitivity
- Event
- EUROSENSORS 2026
2026-09-06 - 2026-09-09
Zurich - Band
- Lectures
- Chapter
- Emerging Sensor Materials
- Author(s)
- I. C. Weber - Chalmers University of Technology,Göteborg (Sweden), D. U. Patino, K. -J. Hsu, Z. Bao - Stanford University,Stanford (USA)
- Pages
- 146 - 147
- DOI
- 10.5162/eurosensors2026/4.3.3
- ISBN
- 978-3-910600-12-6
- Price
- free
Abstract
Continuous monitoring of hormones, neurotransmitters, and metabolites in biofluids such as sweat and saliva holds great promise for personalized health. Yet, current sensor technologies lack the sensitivity, selectivity, and mechanical compliance needed for on-skin and real-life applications. We introduce carbon flowers, which are graphitic microparticles with flower-like morphology, as a novel electrochemical sensing material. These carbon flowers are synthesized through a bottom-up ap-proach by polymerizing acrylonitrile and feature unique morphology with high conductivity and defect-rich structure. Fabricated via scalable spray-coating onto stretchable substrates, the sensors achieve nanomolar detection of serotonin, dopamine, melatonin, uric acid, estradiol, and ascorbic acid, outperforming state-of-the-art carbon materials. Simultaneous multi-analyte detection with excellent linearity (R² > 0.97) and robustness under physiological pH and salt conditions makes them promising for future wearable, real-time health monitoring.