Advanced Fiber Materials, Volume. 7, Issue 1, 00490(2025)

Super-Elastic Phenylalanine Dipeptide Crystal Fibers Enable Monolithic Stretchable Piezoelectrics for Wearable and Implantable Bioelectronics

Juan Ma1, Lili Qian1, Fei Jin1, Weiying Zheng1, Tong Li1, Zhidong Wei1, Ting Wang2、*, and Zhang-Qi Feng1、**
Author Affiliations
  • 1School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, People’s Republic of China
  • 2State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, People’s Republic of China
  • show less

    With the advancement of flexible bioelectronics, developing highly elastic and breathable piezoelectric materials and devices that achieve conformal deformation, synchronous electromechanical coupling with the human body and high-fidelity collection of biological information remains a significant challenge. Here, a nanoconfinement self-assembly strategy is developed to prepare elastic phenylalanine dipeptide (FF) crystal fibers, in which FF crystals form a unique Mortise-Tenon structure with oriented styrene-block-butadiene-block-styrene molecular beams and thereby obtain elasticity (≈1200%), flexibility (Young’s modulus: 0.409 ± 0.031 MPa), piezoelectricity (macroscopic d33: 10.025 ± 0.33 pC N-1), breathability, and physical stability. Furthermore, elastic FF crystal fibers are used to develop a flexible human physiological movement sensing system by integrating Ga–In alloy coating and wireless electronic transmission components. The system can undergo conformal deformation with human skin and achieve high-fidelity capture of biological information originating from human body motions to prevent diseases (such as Parkinson’s disease). In addition, this system also displays superior sensitivity and accuracy in detecting subtle pressure changes in vivo during heartbeats, respiration, and diaphragm movement. Therefore, elastic FF crystal fibers hold great potential for developing new flexible electromechanical sensors that are capable of conformal deformation with the human body, enabling precision medical diagnosis and efficient energy harvesting. A schematic illustration depicting the utilization of styrene-block-butadiene-block-styrene (SBS) fibers as a self-assembly nanoconfinement carrier for phenylalanine dipeptide (FF) has been provided, showcasing the formation mechanism of elastic FF crystal fibers featuring a distinctive Mortise-Tenon structure.

    Tools

    Get Citation

    Copy Citation Text

    Juan Ma, Lili Qian, Fei Jin, Weiying Zheng, Tong Li, Zhidong Wei, Ting Wang, Zhang-Qi Feng. Super-Elastic Phenylalanine Dipeptide Crystal Fibers Enable Monolithic Stretchable Piezoelectrics for Wearable and Implantable Bioelectronics[J]. Advanced Fiber Materials, 2025, 7(1): 00490

    Download Citation

    EndNote(RIS)BibTexPlain Text
    Save article for my favorites
    Paper Information

    Category: Research Articles

    Received: May. 27, 2024

    Accepted: Sep. 29, 2024

    Published Online: Mar. 14, 2025

    The Author Email: Wang Ting (tingwang@seu.edu.cn), Feng Zhang-Qi (fengzhangqi1981@163.com)

    DOI:10.1007/s42765-024-00490-w

    Topics