One-step 3D printed intelligent silk fibroin artificial skin with built-in electronics and microfluidics

Abstract

The rapid fabrication of artificial skin patches with multiple functions has attracted great attention in various research fields, such as personal health monitoring, tissue engineering and robotics. Intertwined-network structures (blood vessel, lymphatic and nerve networks) play a key role in endowing skin with multiple functions. Thus, considerable efforts have been devoted to fabricating artificial skin patches with mimetic internal channels. Here, we present a one-step 3D printed intelligent silk fibroin artificial skin (i-skin) with built-in electronics and microfluidics. By simultaneously extruding functional materials in polyurethane-silk fibroin precursor using a 3D bioprinter, the i-skin and its internal channels can be fabricated within one step. Photonic crystals (PCs) were integrated into the microfluidic channel, enabling the i-skin to sense multiple biomarkers. Moreover, the printed electronics give the i-skin remarkable conductivity, endowing the i-skin with the capability of sensitive motion sensing. Notably, by using the built-in electronics and PC-integrated microfluidics, sensitive sensing of motions and specific cardiac biomarkers can be achieved simultaneously in the i-skin, indicating the remarkable prospects of the printed multi-functional i-skin in health care-related biomedical fields.