Researchers at Sussex University have developed a biodegradable health sensor that fuses natural ingredients like seaweed with graphene. The sensor was created using food-grade algae mixed with a pristine, aqueous graphene suspension. The resulting nanocomposite films were then processed into biodegradable hydrogels, which formed the basis of the sensors. The team's sustainable sensors outperform existing synthetic-based hydrogels and nanomaterials currently used in wearable health and fitness monitors. Their paper, published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, describes how the seaweed-graphene hydrogels were so sensitive that they could measure an object just 2mg in mass landing on their surface, equivalent to a single rain droplet. Lead researcher Dr Conor Boland took inspiration for the work from an unusual source.
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