Nanomaterials to Wearables: 

Engineering the Future of Sensing 

🚩We are delighted to share that our paper has been published in Advanced Science (Impact Factor: 14.1).  

🚩We are delighted to share that our paper has been accepted by Small (Impact Factor: 12.1)

Paper title: 3D-Printed Auxetic Hydrogel Dressings Reinforced with MXene and Carbonized Polymer Dots for Cascaded Antibacterial and Pro-Regenerative Effects in Wound Healing 

🚩賀林子恩老師團隊與優秀學者們榮獲美國達文西發明競賽金牌獎、國際創新發明獎

Our group centers on the development of MXene-based technologies to advance the fields of sustainable electronics and intelligent healthcare.

Introduction to MXenes

MXenes are a versatile family of two-dimensional (2D) transition metal carbides, nitrides, and carbonitrides1. Their general formula is expressed as M(n+1)XnTx, where "M" represents a transition metal, "X" is carbon or nitrogen, and Tx denotes various surface functional groups. Often described as "conductive clays," MXenes uniquely combine metallic-grade electrical conductivity with a hydrophilic surface chemistry, high mechanical robustness, and excellent biocompatibility. These characteristics make them ideal building blocks for flexible, printed, and wearable soft electronics.

Our research bridges material science and clinical application through the following pillars:

1. Green Electronics and Sustainable Wearables

To mitigate the environmental impact of electronic waste, we integrate conductive MXene nanosheets with biodegradable, renewable substrates

• Eco-Friendly Substrates: We utilize bamboo-derived cellulose nanofibers and traditional Xuan paper to create fully degradable, high-performance paper electrodes

• High-Fidelity Sensing: These electrodes maintain low and stable interfacial impedance, providing superior signal-to-noise ratios for monitoring bioelectrical signals such as surface electromyography (sEMG).

• Human-Machine Interfaces (HMI): Our MXene-paper sensors have successfully enabled real-time, low-latency exoskeleton control, assisting in physical rehabilitation and gait support.

2. AI-Driven Biosensing and Diagnostics

We develop advanced electrode architectures combined with machine learning to enhance the precision of medical monitoring.

• Bio-Inspired Design: Taking inspiration from nature, we have designed paraboloidal dome-shaped dry electrodes—modeled after octopus suction cups—to significantly increase skin contact area and improve signal acquisition.

• Postoperative Monitoring: These systems are deployed to monitor swallowing functions in patients recovering from neck cancer or suffering from dysphagia.

• Deep Learning Integration: By applying Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) to multi-channel sEMG data, our systems provide quantitative, AI-assisted assessments of patient recovery with high diagnostic accuracy.

3. Minimally Invasive Healthcare Platforms

Our lab pioneers the use of MXenes in specialized wearable devices for monitoring and therapy.

• Integrated Microneedles: We develop MXene-coated microneedle arrays for painless transdermal biosensing and closed-loop electrostimulation of neuromuscular disorders.

• Miura-ori Structures: Using 3D printing, we create air-permeable electrodes based on the Miura-ori structure, ensuring long-term wearability and effective heat dissipation during continuous health monitoring.

掃描式探針(scanning probe)是利用物理探針，對物體表面進行掃描的一種系統，最著名的包含了原子力顯微鏡(AFM)，以及掃描式電化學顯微鏡(SECM)等。台灣學界專注在掃描探針系統的學者們知識門檻非常高，也很辛苦，因為此類系統儀器價格相當昂貴，通常為上百萬甚至千萬，技術操作門檻相當高，探針又為昂貴消耗品，每年儀器維護費至少要十幾萬以上，林子恩老師亦是台灣少數鑽研此類系統的學者之一。就SECM而言，傳統的探針有許多缺點，例如易碎且為微奈米等級，操作極為困難，如何控制樣品與探針的距離，更是難上加難。因此，要應用到現實世界中，就更加困難了，更遑論進行藥物釋放、掃描真實世界的樣品。為了克服此問題，林子恩老師在國外與指導教授針對儀器改良與偵測樣品的部分做了許多研究，也有相當的成果。回台灣後，有鑑於台灣的AI人才相當優秀且數量多，林老師和學生們開發出可以利用AI來優化成項系統的方法，此為世界第一人用SECM結合AI的研究。另外，林老師和同學們也在探針上進行改良，讓探針可以進行藥物遞送，並和台大醫院、清大合作，對真實世界的病人樣品進行細菌偵測與藥物遞送，並可在豬眼球上進行細菌偵測與藥物遞送。此研究已發表在Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical上，此期刊在儀器領域排名第一(INSTRUMENTS & INSTRUMENTATION 1/76 )。Crossref.