Soft bioelectronics embedded with self-confined tetrahedral DNA circuit for high-fidelity chronic wound monitoring
Xiao Hong Zhao, Jiahao Huang, Juncheng Zhang, Bowen Yang, Zhongjian Hu, Ting Li, Xiang Ma, Chunyan Jiang, Haochen Zou, Songrui Liu, Qiang He, Lixing Weng, Ting Wang, Lianhui Wang
Abstract
Monitoring wound protein biomarkers, especially inflammation-related proteins, is essential to assess wound progression and guide treatment. However, high-fidelity wound biosensing is challenging because of current biosensors’ limitations in detecting low-abundance proteins and their vulnerabilities to mechanical deformation, biofouling, and performance degradation. Here, we introduce a soft bioelectronics embedded with Self-Confined Tetrahedral DNA circuit (SCTD) for wound monitoring. In SCTD, proteins in wound exudate trigger DNA self-circulation amplification confined in the hydrophilic area, decreasing detection limits by an order of magnitude. The tetrahedral DNA structure ensures excellent mechanical stability (within 3% variation after 1000 bending cycles), prolonged stability (within 8% signal attenuation over 4 weeks), and reduced biofouling (over 50% BSA adhesion reduction). Coupled with wireless readout, this platform simultaneously monitors multiple wound healing-related proteins (TNF-α, IL-6, TGF-β1, and VEGF) and biophysical parameters. The wireless platform demonstrates accurate in-situ monitoring of both non-infected and infected wounds on diabetic male mice without hindering the healing process, offering quantitative and comprehensive evaluation to guide treatment. Wound biomarker monitoring faces challenges in both sensitivity and stability. Here, authors present soft wireless bioelectronic device, using self-confined tetrahedral DNA circuits, that enhance detection limits, resists biofouling, and enables stable and real-time monitoring of diabetic wound healing.