Figure 5.

Fabrication of a pH sensitive wound dressing. (a) Fabricated wound dressings are placed on pieces of pig skin sprayed with solutions of different pH. The images confirm sufficient visual difference for identifying the variation in the skin pH for the range relevant to the values in chronic wounds. The insets are showing the micrographs of the engineered fibers in the corresponding solutions. (b) Taking pictures using smart phone for determining the substrate pH value. (c) Flexibility of the fabricated wound dressing and capability for forming conformal contact with skin. (d) Plot indicating the value of skin pH measured from pictures taken by a smart phone versus the actual pH value of sprayed solutions. (e) A wound dressing fabricated with a stack of smaller diameter fibers to increase the coverage area and facilitate its visual inspection.