Development of MWCNTs/MXene/PVA Hydrogel Electrochemical Sensor for Multiplex Detection of Wound Infection Biomarkers

To address the clinical urgency of simultaneously monitoring multiple biomarkers in chronic wound infections, this study presents the innovative development of an electrochemical sensor based on a MWCNTs/MXene/PVA composite hydrogel. A dual-channel conductive network is constructed via the electrostatic self-assembly of the two-dimensional material MXene and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). This strategy not only enhances the charge transfer efficiency but also effectively suppresses the aggregation of MWCNTs and exposes the electrocatalytic active sites. Additionally, the thermal annealing process is incorporated to facilitate the ordered arrangement of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanocrystalline domains, strengthening the hydrogen bond-mediated interfacial adhesion and resolving the issues of hydrogel swelling and delamination. The detection limit (LOD) of the optimized sensor (MWCNTs_0.6/MXene_0.4/PVA) for pyocyanin (PCN) within complex biological matrices, including phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), Luria-Bertani (LB) broth, and saliva, was decreased to a range of 0.84~0.98 μM. Leveraging the disparities in the characteristic oxidation potentials (ΔE > 0.3 V) of PCN, uric acid (UA), and histamine (HA) in simulated wound exudate (SWE), the multi-component synchronous detection functionality of the non-specific sensor was expanded for the first time. This study offers a high-precision and multi-parameter integrated approach for point-of-care testing (POCT) of wound infections.