Medical Design Briefs - May 2021 - 34

The cellulose thread is a renewable and nontoxic electrically conductive material for electronic textiles that can be sewn in an ordinary household sewing
machine. It has a record-high conductivity for cellulose yarn and can handle at least five washes without losing its conductivity. (Credit: Anna-Lena
Lundqvist/Chalmers University of Technology)

The electrically conductive yarn is
produced in a " layer-on-layer " coating
process with an ink based on the
biocompatible polymer polyelectrolyte
complex poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate), or
PEDOT:PSS. The new e-textile thread
measures record-high conductivity for
cellulose thread in relation to volume
of 36 S/cm-, which can be increased to
181 S/cm by adding silver nanowires.
The cellulose thread coated with
PEDOT: PSS can handle at least five
machine washes without losing its conductivity. By integrating the cellulose
yarn into an electrochemical transistor, the researchers have also been
able to demonstrate its electrochemical function.

■ The Benefits of E-Textiles and
Cellulose
Electronic textiles could improve our
lives in several ways. One important area
is healthcare, where functions such as
regulating, monitoring, and measuring
various health metrics could be hugely
beneficial.
In the wider textile industry, where
conversion to sustainable raw materials
is a vital ongoing question, natural materials and fibers have become an increasingly common choice to replace synthetics. Electrically conductive cellulose
threads could have a significant role to
play here too, the researchers say.
" Cellulose is a fantastic material that
can be sustainably extracted and recycled, and we will see it used more and

more in the future. And when products
are made of uniform material, or as few
materials as possible, the recycling process
becomes much easier and more effective.
This is another perspective from which
cellulose thread is very promising for the
development of e-textiles, " says Christian
Müller, research leader for the study and
a professor in the department of chemistry and chemical engineering at
Chalmers University of Technology.
This work of the research team from
Chalmers is performed within the
national research center Wallenberg
Wood Science Center, in cooperation
with colleagues in Sweden, Finland, and
South Korea.
For more information, visit www.
chalmers.se/en.

Color Blindness-Correcting Contact Lenses
Infused lenses create a
safer way to see colors.
American Chemical Society
Washington, DC
Imagine seeing the world in muted
shades - gray sky, gray grass. Some
people with color blindness see everything this way, though most can't see

specific colors. Tinted glasses can help,
but they can't be used to correct blurry
vision. And dyed contact lenses currently in development for the condition are
potentially harmful and unstable. Now,
in ACS Nano, researchers report infusing contact lenses with gold nanoparticles to create a safer way to see colors.
Some daily activities, such as determining whether a banana is ripe,

www.medicaldesignbriefs.com

Cov

ToC

selecting matching clothes, or stopping at a red light, can be difficult for
those with color blindness. Most people with this genetic disorder have
trouble discriminating red and green
shades, and red-tinted glasses can
make those colors more prominent
and easier to see. However, these lenses are bulky, and the lens material cannot be made to fix vision problems.
Medical Design Briefs, May 2021

http://www.chalmers.se/en http://www.medicaldesignbriefs.com

Medical Design Briefs - May 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Medical Design Briefs - May 2021