Key Takeaways & Executive Findings
- •• Two-dimensional (2D) materials are highlighted for their exceptional mechanical, electrical, optical, and chemical properties, making them ideal for fabricating high-performance wearable biodevices. • The review categorizes cutting-edge wearable biodevices by their interactions with physical, electrophysiological, and biochemical signals, showcasing how 2D materials enhance these devices’ functionality, mainly including self-powering and human-machine interaction. • 2D materials enable multifunctional, high-performance biodevices, integrating self-powered systems, treatment platforms, and human-machine interactions, though challenges remain in practical applications. • The review provides a comprehensive overview of recent progress, challenges, and opportunities in applying 2D materials for smart wearable biodevices, guiding future research directions.
Abstract
The proliferation of wearable biodevices has boosted the development of soft, innovative, and multifunctional materials for human health monitoring. The integration of wearable sensors with intelligent systems is an overwhelming tendency, providing powerful tools for remote health monitoring and personal health management. Among many candidates, two-dimensional (2D) materials stand out due to several exotic mechanical, electrical, optical, and chemical properties that can be efficiently integrated into atomic-thin films. While previous reviews on 2D materials for biodevices primarily focus on conventional configurations and materials like graphene, the rapid development of new 2D materials with exotic properties has opened up novel applications, particularly in smart interaction and integrated functionalities. This review aims to consolidate recent progress, highlight the unique advantages of 2D materials, and guide future research by discussing existing challenges and opportunities in applying 2D materials for smart wearable biodevices. We begin with an in-depth analysis of the advantages, sensing mechanisms, and potential applications of 2D materials in wearable biodevice fabrication. Following this, we systematically discuss state-of-the-art biodevices based on 2D materials for monitoring various physiological signals within the human body. Special attention is given to showcasing the integration of multi-functionality in 2D smart devices, mainly including self-power supply, integrated diagnosis/treatment, and human–machine interaction. Finally, the review concludes with a concise summary of existing challenges and prospective solutions concerning the utilization of 2D materials for advanced biodevices.
1. Introduction
With the rising incidence of various diseases and the aging issue of the population worldwide, there is an unprecedented focus on health monitoring and medical care. Wearable biodevices have emerged as a promising solution, offering feasible approaches to monitor a broad range of physical, electrophysiological, and biochemical signals regularly and continuously. These devices hold great potential for applications in preventive medicine, disease diagnosis, rehabilitation treatment, and daily health management. Additionally, wearable biodevices not only enable the selective distinction of numerous health-related signals such as heart rate, body temperature, and blood glucose levels, but also allow for external stimulus or treatment via wireless integration with mobile electronics and internet big data.
In the early stages, significant efforts were directed towards utilizing inorganic (like silicon or metals) and organic materials for biodevice fabrication. However, conventional hard electronic materials exhibit intrinsic mismatches with soft biological tissues in terms of electrical conductivity, mechanical response, permeability, and environmental adaptability. While hard inorganic semiconductors can be rendered flexible in ultrathin membrane format, they are barely stretchable and cannot form a conformal interface with irregular geometries due to their fundamental topological limitations. Deformation-tolerant structures, such as wrinkled, buckled, waved, or serpentine structures, address macroscopic stretchability but fail to provide microscopic conformability due to microscopic structural undulations. Organic or composite semiconductor thin films offer stretchability or conformability but often suffer from insufficient electronic performance or limited stability in wet biological environments.
Ever since the landmark isolation of graphene monolayer in 2004, dozens of 2D monolayers have been extensively explored, including mono-element family (Xenes), transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), transition metal carbides and nitrides (MXenes), layered double hydroxides (LDHs), and more. The 2D monolayer, as the fundamental building block, offers unique properties that can be harnessed for advanced wearable biodevices.
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Yingzhi Sun, Weiyi He, Can Jiang, Jing Li, Jianli Liu, Mingjie Liu (2025). Wearable Biodevices Based on Two-Dimensional Materials: From Flexible Sensors to Smart Integrated Systems. Nano-Micro Letters. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-024-01597-w
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the key advantages of 2D materials for wearable biodevices?
2D materials offer exceptional mechanical flexibility, high electrical conductivity, optical transparency, and chemical stability, making them ideal for conformal integration with soft biological tissues and enabling high-performance sensing and actuation.
How do 2D material-based biodevices monitor physiological signals?
They can monitor physical signals (e.g., strain, pressure), electrophysiological signals (e.g., ECG, EEG), and biochemical signals (e.g., glucose, pH) through various sensing mechanisms such as piezoresistive, capacitive, and electrochemical transduction.
What are the main challenges in practical applications of 2D material-based biodevices?
Challenges include scalable production, long-term stability in biological environments, biocompatibility, and integration with existing electronic systems. Addressing these is crucial for clinical translation.
How do 2D materials enable self-powered wearable biodevices?
2D materials like MXenes and TMDs can be used in energy harvesting devices such as triboelectric nanogenerators and piezoelectric generators, converting mechanical energy from body movements into electrical power, thus enabling self-powered operation.
What is the significance of human-machine interaction in 2D material-based biodevices?
Human-machine interaction allows for real-time feedback and control, enabling applications such as prosthetics, virtual reality, and remote health monitoring. 2D materials facilitate flexible and sensitive interfaces for seamless interaction.
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