Making commercial bracelet smarter with a biochemical button module.

Despite the rapid development of mobile health based on wearable devices in recent years, lack of access to biochemical detection remains a vital challenge for most commercial wearable devices, which hinders the provision of effective electronic health records (EHRs) for disease control strategies, and further constraining the development of personalized precision medicine. Herein, we propose a strategy to graft biochemical detection function onto commercial bracelet. Different from the conventional development process of designing a completely new wearable biochemical device, we prefer to upgrade existing commercial wearable device to achieve simpler, faster, and more effective research and commercialization processes. An affordable and user-friendly biochemical button module has been designed that enables to integrate sensitive, specific, and rapid biochemical detection function into the idle space on the strap of the bracelet without increasing the size of the main body. This "Smart Bracelet Plus" shows the ability to simultaneously monitor physical and biochemical signals, and will serve as a reliable and systematic personal diagnostics and monitoring platform for providing real-time EHRs for disease control strategies and improving the efficiency of the healthcare system.

Preparation of coated paper reinforced by a blend of anionic-starch-based nanocellulose/chitosan and its properties.

Carboxylated cellulose nanocrystal whisker (C-CNC) and chitosan (CTS) were used to blend and reinforce anionic starch (AS) to prepare a paper-coating agent, AS-CNC-CTS, which was coated on one side of the surface of offset paper and kraft paper. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the AS-CNC-CTS coating agent can form a layer of dense film on the paper surface and fill the surface pores. And also, owing to the irregular pore structure of the paper, the coating agent penetrated the pores to different degrees. The structure and mechanical properties of the coated paper were analyzed using a Fourier infrared spectrometer, computer-controlled paper-tearing tester and paper tensile strength test machine. Peptide bonding interaction between C-CNC and CTS, hydrogen bonding between C-CNC and CTS, C-CNC and AS, C-CNC and paper fibers, as well as electrostatic attraction between acidified CTS and AS were found. Moreover, the coating agent also had good antibacterial properties, and no mold spots formed throughout the observation period (60d). The gas-barrier properties and oil resistance of the coated paper were further studied using a paper and paperboard air permeability tester and a paper oil-permeability tester. Results showed that the coating agent can significantly enhance the gas-barrier properties and oil resistance of paper. Furthermore, with increased C-CNC content in the coating agent, its barrier properties gradually increased. This finding indicated that the coating preparation had no effect on the crystal region of C-CNC.