Researchers at Koç University have created a new wound dressing featuring a sensor that continuously measures the pH level of the wound environment.

Designed to facilitate the monitoring of the healing process, particularly in chronic wounds, the sensor has been built to detect the chemical properties of the wound environment, which change in accordance with the different stages of the healing process.

Source: ACS Sensors (2025). DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.4c02172

One of these changes is pH, the team explained, noting that variations in wound pH over time offers valuable insight into the biological and chemical processes occurring at the wound site.

As such, the new wound dressing has been designed to combine a gel-like structure that comes into contact with the wound surface along with a thin paper-based layer that guides fluid transport. Together, the gel-like structure offers a wound-compatible interface that allows for pH measurement while the paper-based structure enables controlled movement of wound exudate.

During trials of the bandage, the paper-based structure reportedly increased fluid absorption, offering roughly four times greater fluid uptake versus systems using only the gel layer. This design allowed for the sensor to stay in constant contact with the wound environment.

In addition to offering a gel-based sensing and fluid-guiding approach within a single system for long-term pH monitoring, the system is also comprised of naturally degradable materials — including a paper-based structure and a chitosan-containing hydrogel — making it appropriate for both single-use wound dressing applications and the environment.

An article detailing the dressing, “Methacrylated Chitosan Methacrylated Poly(vinyl alcohol)-Based Hydrogel Patch for Long-Term Electrochemical Wound pH Sensing,” appears in the journal ACS Sensors.