LAMPSe | Greco Group Graz
Francesco Greco, Head of LAMPSe, recently was interviewed by Nina Notman for a feature article on smart tattoos for the UK Royal Society of Chemistry’s Chemistry World magazine www.chemistryworld.com.
The article features the newest developments on smart tattoos, discussing blood-analysing patches, sweat sensors, color changing – UV detecting tattoos and electrophysiological sensing tattoos, like the ones developed at LAMPSe.
Here the link to the article available on chemistryworld.com:
Alexander Dallinger, Paul Kindlhofer, Francesco Greco and Anna Maria Coclite
Publication Date: March 9, 2021
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.0c01385
The method of converting insulating polymers into conducting 3D porous graphene structures, so called laser-induced graphene (LIG) with a commercially available CO2 laser engraving system in an ambient atmosphere, resulted in several applications in sensing, actuation and energy. In this paper we demonstrate a combination of LIG and a smart hydrogel (poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) – pNVCL) for multiresponsive actuation in a humid environment. Initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) was used to deposit a thin layer of smart hydrogel onto a matrix of PDMS and embedded LIG tracks. An intriguing property of smart hydrogels, such as pNVCL, is that the change of an external stimulus (temperature, pH, magnetic/electric fields) induces a reversible phase transition from a swollen to a collapsed state. While the active smart hydrogel layer had a thickness of only 300 nm (compared to the 500 times thicker actuator matrix), it was possible to induce a reversible bending of over 30° in the humid environment triggered by joule heating. The properties of each material were investigated by means of scanning electron microscope (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, tensile testing and ellipsometry. The actuation performances of single-responsive versions were investigated by creating a thermoresponsive PDMS/LIG actuator and a humidityresponsive PDMS/pNVCL actuator. These results were used to tune the properties of the multiresponsive PDMS/LIG/pNVCL actuator. Furthermore, the capabilities of self-sensing were investigated. By getting a feedback from the piezoresistive change of the PMDS/LIG composite the bending angle could be tracked by measuring the change in resistance. To highlight the possibilities of the processing techniques and the combination of materials, a demonstrator in the shape of an octopus with four independently controllable arms was produced.
A new open access paper by S. Taccola et al. about skin-contact Temporary Tattoo Electrodes (TTEs). The study is part of a collaboration of our former group at CMBR IIT – Italian Institute of Technology, Pontedera (Italy) with the company MEDEL Gmbh, Innsbruck (Austria). The study investigates skin-contact tattoo electrodes in various bio-electric signals recording applications, such as bioimpedance for respiration monitoring. Novel methods for realizing a repositionable, long-term stable and robust interconnection of TTEs with external “docking” devices are presented. A further step forward toward the real use of our tattoo interfaces in health monitoring!
Publication in Sensors MDPI:
Silvia Taccola, Aliria Poliziani, Daniele Santonocito, Alessio Mondini, Christian Denk, Alessandro Noriaki Ide, Markus Oberparleiter, Francesco Greco, Virgilio Mattoli
Sensors, 21(4), 1197 (2021).
DOI: 10.3390/s21041197
https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/4/1197
A new paper by Jonathan Barsotti et al. about Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) on temporary tattoo. The study is a collaboration with groups of Dr. Virgilio Mattoli (CMBR IIT, Italy) and Prof. Franco Cacialli (UCL, London, UK). Ultrathin tattooable OLEDS are presented which can be transferred onto various target surfaces maintaining their functionality.
Publication in Advanced Electronic Materials:
Ultrathin, Ultra‐Conformable, and Free‐Standing Tattooable Organic Light‐Emitting Diodes
Jonathan Barsotti, Alexandros G. Rapidis, Ikue Hirata, Francesco Greco, Franco Cacialli, Virgilio Mattoli
Advanced Electronic Materials, 2001145 (2021).
DOI: 10.1002/aelm.202001145
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/aelm.202001145
UPDATE:
The publication on the tattooable OLED got mentioned in the BBC article “Could electric tattoos be the next step in body art?”.
In Summer LAMPSe was interviewed by Ö1, one of Austria’s public radio stations. The interview was broadcasted on October 21st and can now be accessed online. Listen to Alexander Dallinger and Francesco Greco talking about the innovative tattoo electrodes.
Here the link to the interview available on Ö1 – DIGITAL.LEBEN:
We contributed with a Chapter to a new book “Organic Flexible Electronics”, edited by P. Cosseddu and M. Caironi by Elsevier.
Our contribution to the book:
L. M. Ferrari, S. Taccola, J. Barsotti, V. Mattoli, F. Greco
in Organic Flexible Electronics, Eds. P. Cosseddu, M. Caironi, Elsevier 2021, pages 437-478
Publication Date: October 5, 2020
Link to the Chapter on Science Direct – Elsevier
We published an highlight on our tattoo for brain recordings in the latest issue of Braininsight, the newsletter of IEEE Brain dedicated to neuroscience and neurotechnology community.
Our tattoo electrodes and the activities of LAMPSe group TUGraz have been highlighted by ORF, the Austrian National Broadcasting Corporation, on ORF2 News “Steiermark Heute”.
Here the link to the video available on the YouTube channel of TU Graz:
Check out our INVITED REVIEW:
Laura M. Ferrari, Kirill Keller, Bernhard Burtscher, Francesco Greco*
Multifunctional Materials, 2020, 3 3.
Published online on July 16, 2020
DOI: 10.1088/2399-7532/aba6e3
