Researchers at National Sun Yat-sen University have developed a multifunctional biomedical material that combines motion sensing, wound treatment, and healing support into a single, flexible platform. Led by Professor Cheng-Hsin Chuang, the work demonstrates how deep eutectic solvents (DES), a stable, water-free chemical system, can serve as the functional core of a material that moves naturally with the human body.
Human skin does not simply bend; it stretches, twists, and deforms during daily activities. However, many existing conductive gels and so-called “smart” wound dressings are water-based and optimized for limited functions, such as wound coverage or electrical stimulation. Over time, these materials can dry out, lose conductivity, and struggle to perform reliably under real-world conditions. To address this challenge, the research team developed a water-free ionic gel that enables stable electrical performance, mechanical stretchability, and sensing capability to be built directly into the material itself.
The DES-based gel can be adapted for multiple applications. It can function as a wearable motion sensor that conforms closely to the skin, be applied directly to bleeding wounds to help reduce blood loss, or serve as a smart dressing that delivers controlled electrical stimulation to support tissue repair. Designed to be simple to apply, the sensor can be used by merely sticking it onto the skin, making it suitable not only for clinical settings but also for active users such as athletes who require materials that can keep up with movement.
In animal studies, wounds treated with the material showed substantially improved healing outcomes, including more than double the epidermal regeneration and nearly threefold increases in new blood vessel formation compared with standard commercial dressings. These findings suggest that integrating treatment and sensing into a single stretchable material may offer a practical way to simplify wound management and recovery monitoring.
Beyond performance, the work highlights a broader design approach: rather than adding more devices or layers, key functions can be achieved through material-level integration. By tuning the DES composition, the same platform can be adapted for different medical and movement-intensive scenarios without increasing system complexity.
To find out more about how this stretchable DES-based material was developed and its potential future applications, readers are encouraged to explore the full press release and watch the accompanying research video.
Source Credit: Newswise
