Sweat Pore-Inspired Functional Nanofiber Fabrics for Sweat Management and Simultaneous Detection

• Published in: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) Germany), 2024-10, p.e2408465
• Main Authors: Wang, Ruidong, Guan, Chunsheng, Jin, Xuening, Chai, Jing, Zhou, Fujin, Wang, Ning, Song, Botao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1613-6810; 1613-6829; 1613-6829
• DOI: 10.1002/smll.202408465

Functional fabric with directional sweat transport and simultaneous sweat detection is highly desirable in daily life due to its crucial role in ensuring exercise comfort and promoting health. Herein, the inspiration is drawn from both the perspiration function of sweat pores and the backflow prevention feature of the surrounding solid skin to develop bioinspired hydrophobic nanofiber fabric. When combined with commercial cotton, this fabric enables rapid discharge of sweat through the sweat pore-like channels at an ultrafast speed of 240 g s m , while effectively preventing backflow around these channels to ensure highly efficient personal drying. The performance of the bioinspired nanofiber fabric surpasses that of five commercially available moisture-wicking fabrics by effectively guiding liquid transport while minimizing residual moisture accumulation on the inner side. Furthermore, a colorimetric analysis system is integrated into the bioinspired nanofiber fabric, which facilitates convenient sampling of sweat samples and detection of biomarkers in sweat such as chloride ion, calcium ion, and pH level. This innovative design based on the concept of sweat pores opens up new possibilities for developing intelligent fabrics, electronic skins, and point-of-care devices.