Shape of things to comeDay of smart fabrics nears

Published 8 December 2008

Researchers report progress toward a simple, low-cost method to make smart fabrics — electronic textiles capable of detecting diseases, monitoring heart rates, and other vital signs

Good news for people whose health need continuous monitoring — but also for first responders and rescue units personnel, the vital functions of which should be monitored as they rush into a burning building or engage in other demanding activities in stressful environments. Researchers in United States and China are reporting progress toward a simple, low-cost method to make “smart fabrics” — electronic textiles capable of detecting diseases, monitoring heart rates, and other vital signs. A report on these fibers, made of carbon nanotubes, is scheduled for the 10 December issue of ACSNano Letters.
In the new study, Nicholas Kotov, Chuanlai Xu, and colleagues note that electronic textiles, or E-textiles, already are a reality. The current materials, though, are too bulky, rigid, and complex for practical use. Fabric makers need simpler, more flexible materials to make E-fibers practical for future applications, they say.

The scientists describe development of cotton fibers coated with electrolytes and carbon nanotubes (CNT) — thin filaments 1/50,000 the width of a single human hair. The fibers are soft, flexible, and capable of transmitting electricity when woven into fabrics. In laboratory tests, the researchers showed that the new E-fibers could light up a simple light-emitting diode when connected to a battery. When coated with certain antibodies, the fibers detected the presence of albumin, a key protein in blood — a function that could be used to detect bleeding in wounded soldiers. The fabrics could also help monitor diseases and vital signs, they say.

-read more in  Bong Sup Shim, “Smart Electronic Yarns and Wearable Fabrics for Human Biomonitoring made by Carbon Nanotube Coating with Polyelectrolytes,” Nano Letters, 7 November 2008 (DOI: 10.1021/nl801495p)