Title:Combining Inkjet Printing and Sol-Gel Chemistry for Making pH-Sensitive Surfaces
Volume: 15
Issue: 3
Author(s): Gianni Orsi, Carmelo De Maria, Francesca Montemurro, Veeren M. Chauhan, Jonathan W. Aylott and Giovanni Vozzi
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Gelatine, Inkjet, Nanosensors, pH sensors, Silane, Sol-Gel.
Abstract: Today biomedical sciences are experiencing the importance of imaging biological parameters
with luminescence methods. Studying 2D pH distribution with those methods allows building knowledge
about complex cellular processes. Immobilizing pH sensitive nanoparticles inside hydrogel matrixes, in order
to guarantee a proper SNR, could easily make stable and biocompatible 2D sensors. Inkjet printing is
also well known as tool for printing images onto porous surfaces. Recently it has been used as a free-form fabrication
method for building three-dimensional parts, and now is being explored as a way of printing electrical and optical devices.
Inkjet printing was used either as a rapid prototyping method for custom biosensors. Sol-gel method is naturally bound
with inkjet, because the picoliter-sized ink droplets evaporate quickly, thus allowing quick sol-gel transitions on the
printed surface. In this work will be shown how to merge those technologies, in order to make a nanoparticles doped
printable hydrogel, which could be used for making 2D/3D smart scaffolds able to monitor cell activities. An automated
image analysis system was developed in order to quickly have the pH measurements from pH nanosensors fluorescence
images.
