Conductive Nanofiber Composite Fabric Biosensor and Method for its Fabrication

This biosensor provides a means for rapid, sensitive, and specific detection of bacterial strains at the point of care. It is capable of detecting pathogenic bacteria through an impedance method by tracking the phase and magnitude response from a generated sinusoidal signal. Current approaches to infection assessment rely on imaging technologies or swab cultures, which are effective but expensive in time and personnel costs. Additionally, assessment in a clinical setting is subjective and highly based on skill level of the clinician. This creates the need to develop a technology that facilitates improving patient outcomes and limiting medical costs. The global biosensors market is expected to reach $36 million by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 7.9%. In this high demand market environment, Clemson University researchers have created a method to produce nanofiber-based impedance and electrochemical biosensors that can be tuned to specific bacterial species and quantification that can be accomplished to provide information about current state as well as growth rate.