In our everyday life, we are surrounded by electronic sensing devices designed in a way to meet requirements for a certain application, which is determined primarily by their shape and size. In this respect, the natural question, which surprisingly has only recently been raised, is can one create electronics that can be reshaped on demand after its fabrication? After introducing this ground-breaking paradigm, the so-called flexible electronics became a dynamically developing research area with already a variety of flexible devices commercially available: electronic displays, light-emitting diodes, integrated circuitry, to name a few. Special attention has been paid to the family of shapeable electronics which combines advantages of being flexible with the high speed of conventional semiconductor-based electronics. Shapeable electronics and optoelectronics have been developed already for a few years. Very recently, we added a new member to this family - the shapeable magnetoelectronics [1,2]. This shapeable (flexible, stretchable and printable) magnetoelectronics paves the way towards development of a unique class of devices with important functionality being not only flexible and fast, but also with the ability to react and respond to a magnetic field [3]. We are working on two alternative strategies to realize shapeable magnetoelectronics. On the one hand, we already integrated a GMR sensor based on [Py/Cu] multilayers directly into a rolled-up fluidic channel and demonstrated the performance of the functional device for the in-flow detection of ferromagnetic CrO2 nanoparticles embedded in a biocompatible polymeric hydrogel shell [4]. At the same time, we are developing magnetic sensors on elastic membranes and recently reported the fabrication of elastic magnetic sensor elements, which withstand tensile strains up to 30% [5]. Realization of shapeable magnetoelectronics enables exciting possibilities in medicine (implants and magnetic micro-control of surgeries), and in biology (protein detection, cytometry). Indeed, in combination with magnetic particles as biomarkers, the shapeable magnetic sensor can be considered as a magnetic cytometer - new generation of biosensors for cells or even biomolecules. Magnetic cytometry solves many problems of the traditional optical detection methods like low speed, excitation, bulky and expensive equipment, biomolecular amplification and the need for transparent packaging.
[1] M. Melzer et al., Nano Letters 11, 2522 (2011).
[2] D. Karnaushenko et al., Adv. Mater. 24, 4518 (2012).
[3] M. Melzer et al., RSC Advances 2, 2284 (2012).
[4] I. Mönch et al., ACS Nano 5, 7436 (2011).
[5] M. Melzer et al., Adv. Mater. (2012)
In our everyday life, we are surrounded by electronic sensing devices designed in a way to meet requirements for a certain application, which is determined primarily by their shape and size. In this respect, the natural question, which surprisingly has only recently been raised, is can one create electronics that can be reshaped on demand after its fabrication? After introducing this ground-breaking paradigm, the so-called flexible electronics became a dynamically developing research area with already a variety of flexible devices commercially available: electronic displays, light-emitting diodes, integrated circuitry, to name a few. Special attention has been paid to the family of shapeable electronics which combines advantages of being flexible with the high speed of conventional semiconductor-based electronics. Shapeable electronics and optoelectronics have been developed already for a few years. Very recently, we added a new member to this family - the shapeable magnetoelectronics [1,2]. This shapeable (flexible, stretchable and printable) magnetoelectronics paves the way towards development of a unique class of devices with important functionality being not only flexible and fast, but also with the ability to react and respond to a magnetic field [3]. We are working on two alternative strategies to realize shapeable magnetoelectronics. On the one hand, we already integrated a GMR sensor based on [Py/Cu] multilayers directly into a rolled-up fluidic channel and demonstrated the performance of the functional device for the in-flow detection of ferromagnetic CrO2 nanoparticles embedded in a biocompatible polymeric hydrogel shell [4]. At the same time, we are developing magnetic sensors on elastic membranes and recently reported the fabrication of elastic magnetic sensor elements, which withstand tensile strains up to 30% [5]. Realization of shapeable magnetoelectronics enables exciting possibilities in medicine (implants and magnetic micro-control of surgeries), and in biology (protein detection, cytometry). Indeed, in combination with magnetic particles as biomarkers, the shapeable magnetic sensor can be considered as a magnetic cytometer - new generation of biosensors for cells or even biomolecules. Magnetic cytometry solves many problems of the traditional optical detection methods like low speed, excitation, bulky and expensive equipment, biomolecular amplification and the need for transparent packaging.
[1] M. Melzer et al., Nano Letters 11, 2522 (2011).
[2] D. Karnaushenko et al., Adv. Mater. 24, 4518 (2012).
[3] M. Melzer et al., RSC Advances 2, 2284 (2012).
[4] I. Mönch et al., ACS Nano 5, 7436 (2011).
[5] M. Melzer et al., Adv. Mater. (2012)
