Electrically-Actuated Valves for Woven Fabric Lateral Flow Devices

The integration of flow control elements into low-cost biosensors presents a significant engineering challenge. This Article describes the development and integration of active, chemical valves into lateral flow devices, using a scalable, single-step, weaving-based manufacturing approach. The valve was constructed from an electrically conductive polymer, polypyrrole. The polymer switches between wetting and nonwetting states when it is reduced and oxidized via the application of an electrochemical potential. In this work, yarns were first coated with polypyrrole and integrated into fabric lateral flow sensors. The coated yarns were stimulated in situ via integrated electrodes. Coated textiles were characterized for their response to variations in the applied electrical potential, the duration for which the potential is applied, and the chemical composition of the polymer. Among these tuning parameters, the concentration of iron (iii) chloride utilized to catalyze the synthesis of the polymer, was found to...