Integrated wearable foam modified with WS 2 nanosheets@MoS 2 quantum dots for oral disease diagnosis and healthcare monitoring

To develop a sensitive point-of-care platform for screening hidden caries, periodontitis and functional dyskinesia is highly desirable. Breath analysis is considered as a promising method for non-invasive clinical diagnostics. When further combined with monitoring the movement disorders of maxillofacial region, the accuracy of disease diagnosis can be greatly improved. However, the design and investigation of integrated sensing platform for multiple stimuli are currently limited. In this study, a multifunctional heterostructure combined p-type WS 2 nanosheets with n-type MoS 2 quantum dots (WS 2 /MoS 2 heterostructure) is designed for realizing multi-parameters sensing via assistance of different substrate. The gas sensor based on an optimized WS 2 /MoS 2 heterostructure (W:Mo = 300:1) exhibits an enhanced response (73.1 % to 1 ppm) and the limit of detection is 10 ppb at room temperature (25 °C) under UV assistance. The improvements in gas sensing performance can be attributed to the synergistic effect of heterostructure, sensitization of QDs and UV photoactivation. The electromechanical sensor achieved by modified WS 2 /MoS 2 heterostructure on conductive TPU foam exhibits excellent linearity, as well as a wide sensing range of 10 %–160 % strain and 5–250 kPa pressure, respectively. In addition, it is effective in perceiving subtle or large oral and maxillofacial movements. Finally, a multifunctional wearable platform is successfully employed to differentiate the respiratory biomarkers of healthy individuals from simulated exhaled breath in patients with caries and periodontitis, and to discriminate bite force of incisors and molars in diverse populations. This wearable device offers a promising, practical, and sustainable strategy for mobile treatment platforms and personalized healthcare.