Stimulus-sensitive hydrogels and their applications in chemical (micro)analysis

TLDR

Prior art includes metal‑ion and antigen‑sensitive sensors and a few actuators, which are reviewed in this article. This tutorial review discusses stimulus‑sensitive hydrogels as sensors and actuators for micro‑analytical applications, covering their composition, behavior, and use in microsensors, microactuators, and micro total analysis systems. The article explains how hydrogels’ chemical composition and chemo‑physical behavior enable their deployment in microsensors, microactuators, and micro total analysis systems, highlighting benefits and miniaturisation. Benefits of stimulus‑sensitive hydrogels, their miniaturisation, and the use of 365 nm UV‑photolithography as a fast, economical manufacturing technique are highlighted.

Abstract

In this tutorial review the use of stimulus-sensitive hydrogels as sensors and actuators for (micro)analytical applications is discussed. The first part of the article is aimed at making the reader familiar with stimulus-sensitive hydrogels, their chemical composition and their chemo-physical behavior. The prior art in the field, that comprises a number of sensors ranging from metal ion-sensitive sensors to antigen-sensitive sensors and a few actuators, is also treated in this part. The second part of the article focusses on the use of stimulus-sensitive hydrogels for microsensors and microactuators as well as their application in micro total analysis systems. The benefits of stimulus-sensitive hydrogels, their miniaturisation and the use of 365 nm UV-photolithography as a fast economical manufacturing technique are discussed.