The main objective of the research project 3D-HyMat-UV is the synthesis and characterization of novel hydrogel-based materials that are sensitive to ultraviolet (UV) radiation and can be 3D-printed for a rapid and affordable manufacturing of sensing devices. These hydrogel-based devices would be used for the real-time monitoring and quantification of UV radiation exposure to prevent health hazards linked to this type of radiation.
Exposure to excessive ultraviolet radiation from the Sun can have serious effects on human health. Several millions of new skin cancer cases are diagnosed annually over the world. In the United States only, every year approximately 100,000 new cases of melanoma, the most severe type of skin cancer, are diagnosed with an outcome of 6850 deaths in the year 2020.
Inexpensive and easy-to-use sensors for monitoring UV radiation would allow the assessment of UV exposure on a large scale, but their implementation requires novel UV-sensitive materials with a fast response and a technology that enables rapid and affordable manufacturing of the sensors on a large scale. Recently, 3D printing has emerged as the most suited manufacturing technique for development of devices for large-scale use. However, the success of the printing process is highly dependent on the physico-chemical and mechanical properties of the materials. In addition, only well-designed materials can generate a reproducible and robust response with the appropriate sensitivity to be able to operate in the outdoor environment and be applied for everyday use. Portability, fast response, small sample size, reagent use, and low or no power requirements are other requirements that this type of sensors should match. Low-cost detection systems would be highly beneficial in areas that have limited resources available, thus bringing health monitoring to a large population audience.
Colorimetric sensors for monitoring UV radiation effects offer great advantages such ease-of-use and portability, as well as no power requirements. Biocompatibility of the materials used for the matrix would be a significative improvement, together with a low toxicity of the photoactive elements that are involved in the UV sensing mechanism, with respect to available composite materials that are traditionally used in UV detectors. However, such UV sensing materials need to be carefully investigated to determine the level of interactions among each component under UV exposure, and so to exploit the different coloration states for quantitative purposes. To our knowledge, UV colorimetric sensors that are based on 3D printable hydrogel materials are not yet reported in the literature.