Optimization of pH Sensor Characteristics: An exploration of sensor characteristics and reusability of hydrogel based pH sensors

Abstract

Hydrogels prepared from natural polymers such as gelatin/chitosan composite. This composite is unique because of its abundance, nontoxicity, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. Gelatin is a matrix of polypeptide hydrolyzed from collagen. Its rapid biodegradation and low mechanical strength restricts further usage of this material. For this reason, the blending of biodegradable polymers has been employed. Chitosan is a polysaccharide derived from chitin. Therefore, chitosan was introduced for fabricating gelatin/chitosan composite. Chitosan and gelatin are being used because they are pH responsive gels and are feasible for measuring pH of any physiological environment. Following parameters were optimized for the conductometric hydrogel based pH sensors: size, resistance, simulated physiological conditions and reusability. These hydrogel based pH sensor was small enough for point of care measurement. On the basis of these optimized parameters, it is concluded that the shortlisted sensor shows good sensitivity, high accuracy, and shortest response time in the physiological pH range and can be used in the medical devices.