Printed electrochemical sensors and biosensors offer promising solutions for the development of low-cost, miniaturized and customizable measurement systems for biomedical, environmental, agricultural and industrial applications.
Our research focuses on the design, fabrication and metrological characterization of printed electrochemical sensors, biosensors and ion-selective electrodes, with particular attention to additive manufacturing technologies, flexible substrates, functional materials, electrochemical readout techniques and point-of-care applications.
Current research activities include all-solid-state ion-selective sensors, amperometric and potentiometric sensors, printed electrode platforms, wearable chemical sensors and integrated microfluidic systems.
Printed Electrochemical Sensors and Biosensors
Printing technologies allow electrochemical sensing elements to be fabricated directly on flexible and unconventional substrates while enabling precise control of electrode geometry and functionalization.
Our research investigates printed electrochemical platforms for the detection of ions, proteins, metabolites and other chemical and biological analytes.
Main research topics include:
- printed electrochemical sensors
- printed biosensors
- amperometric sensors
- potentiometric sensors
- electrochemical impedance measurements
- printed working, reference and counter electrodes
- functionalized and nanostructured electrodes
- electrochemical sensor arrays
- point-of-care sensing platforms
Particular attention is devoted to the relationship between sensor fabrication, electrochemical behavior and measurement performance.
Ion-Selective and All-Solid-State Printed Sensors
A growing research activity focuses on printed ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) and, in particular, on all-solid-state ion-selective sensors.
These devices are attractive for applications requiring low-cost, miniaturized and potentially wearable systems for the selective measurement of ionic species.
Research activities include:
- all-solid-state ion-selective electrodes
- solid-contact ion-selective sensors
- ion-selective membranes
- potentiometric measurements
- printed reference electrodes
- potassium sensing
- ion detection in biological fluids
- environmental and agricultural ion monitoring
- printed interdigitated electrodes
- metrological characterization of ion-selective sensors
Recent research has specifically investigated Aerosol Jet Printed ion-selective electrodes for potassium detection, including the fabrication and characterization of solid-contact sensing structures.
Flexible and Wearable Electrochemical Sensors
Printed electronics enables electrochemical sensors to be fabricated on thin and flexible substrates, opening new opportunities for wearable chemical sensing and continuous monitoring.
Our research investigates flexible electrochemical devices suitable for integration into wearable and portable measurement systems.
Applications include:
- wearable electrochemical sensors
- sweat analysis
- physiological monitoring
- flexible amperometric sensors
- point-of-care testing
- portable measurement systems
- multimodal wearable sensing
Particular attention is given to sensitivity, selectivity, repeatability, stability and measurement uncertainty, which are critical when wearable sensors are intended for quantitative measurements.
Microfluidics and Integrated Electrochemical Platforms
The integration of printed electrochemical sensors with microfluidic structures can improve sample handling, reduce operator dependency and enable the use of small fluid volumes.
Our research has demonstrated the fabrication of electrochemical sensing platforms in which electrodes and microfluidic structures can be produced using additive manufacturing technologies.
These platforms are investigated for:
- biological sample analysis
- glucose sensing
- protein detection
- biomarker detection
- point-of-care testing
- in-vitro measurements
- lab-on-chip applications
Additive manufacturing also enables customized electrode geometries and three-dimensional structures for improving sensor functionalization and interaction with the sample.
Metrology of Electrochemical and Biosensing Systems
Reliable quantitative measurements require more than sensor sensitivity alone.
A major aspect of our research therefore concerns the metrological characterization of electrochemical sensors and biosensors, including:
- sensitivity
- selectivity
- limit of detection
- repeatability and reproducibility
- drift and stability
- calibration
- measurement uncertainty
- sensor-to-sensor variability
- influence of manufacturing processes
- electronic readout and potentiostat design
The objective is to develop printed chemical and biological sensors that can evolve from proof-of-concept devices toward reliable quantitative measurement systems.
Selected Publications
Journal Articles
Ion-Selective All-Solid-State Printed Sensors: A Systematic Review
G. Polidori, S. Tonello, M. Serpelloni
IEEE Sensors Journal, 24(6), pp. 7375–7394, 2024.
This systematic review analyzes the state of the art of printed all-solid-state ion-selective sensors, including fabrication technologies, materials, sensing configurations, applications and performance characteristics.
DOI: 10.1109/JSEN.2024.3354321
Aerosol Jet Printed Ion-Selective Electrodes for Potassium Detection
G. Polidori, E. Sardini, M. Serpelloni
Sensors, 26, 3053, 2026.
This work presents the fabrication and experimental characterization of Aerosol Jet Printed ion-selective electrodes for potassium detection, demonstrating the feasibility of additive manufacturing for solid-contact potentiometric sensors.
Printed Electrochemical Biosensors: Opportunities and Metrological Challenges
E. Sardini, M. Serpelloni, S. Tonello
Biosensors, 10(11), 166, 2020.
This work discusses the opportunities offered by printed electrochemical biosensors while focusing on the metrological challenges associated with quantitative sensing, including fabrication variability, calibration and measurement performance.
Amperometric Measurements by a Novel Aerosol Jet Printed Flexible Sensor for Wearable Applications
S. Tonello, T. Fapanni, S. Bonaldo, G. Giorgi, C. Narduzzi, A. Paccagnella, M. Serpelloni, E. Sardini, S. Carrara
IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, 72, 2023.
The work investigates a flexible Aerosol Jet Printed electrochemical sensor for amperometric measurements, with particular attention to its integration into wearable sensing applications.
Nano-Functionalized Electrochemical Sensors by Aerosol Jet Printing
T. Fapanni, E. Sardini, M. Serpelloni, S. Tonello
IEEE Sensors Journal, 22(22), pp. 21498–21507, 2022.
The study investigates the fabrication and characterization of nano-functionalized printed electrochemical sensors, combining Aerosol Jet Printing with functional materials for electrochemical sensing.
DOI: 10.1109/JSEN.2022.3213349
3D Electrochemical Sensor and Microstructuration Using Aerosol Jet Printing
T. Fapanni, E. Sardini, M. Serpelloni, S. Tonello
Sensors, 21(23), 7820, 2021.
This work explores three-dimensional microstructuration and electrode fabrication for printed electrochemical sensing using Aerosol Jet Printing.
Support-Material-Free Microfluidics on an Electrochemical Sensors Platform by Aerosol Jet Printing
N.G. Di Novo, E. Cantù, S. Tonello, E. Sardini, M. Serpelloni
Sensors, 19(8), 1842, 2019.
This work demonstrates an integrated electrochemical platform in which sensors and microfluidic structures are fabricated by Aerosol Jet Printing, including experimental validation through glucose measurements.
Aerosol Jet Printed 3D Electrochemical Sensors for Protein Detection
E. Cantù, S. Tonello, G. Abate, D. Uberti, E. Sardini, M. Serpelloni
Sensors, 18(11), 3719, 2018.
This study investigates customized three-dimensional electrochemical sensors produced by Aerosol Jet Printing for protein and biomarker detection.
How to Assess the Measurement Performance of Mobile/Wearable Point-of-Care Testing Devices? A Systematic Review Addressing Sweat Analysis
S. Tonello, G. Abate, M. Borghetti, N.F. Lopomo, M. Serpelloni, E. Sardini
Electronics, 11(5), 761, 2022.
This systematic review addresses the measurement performance of wearable and mobile point-of-care devices for sweat analysis, with particular attention to the metrological parameters required for reliable quantitative sensing.
DOI: 10.3390/electronics11050761
Related Conference Papers
Preliminary Analysis of Aerosol Jet Printed Solid Contact K⁺ Sensors for Rapid Soil Extraction
G. Polidori, E. Sardini, M. Serpelloni
2026 IEEE International Workshop on Metrology for Industry 4.0 and IoT, 2026.
The study investigates Aerosol Jet Printed solid-contact potassium sensors for rapid ion measurements in soil extracts.
Ion-Selective Sensors with Interdigitated Electrodes by Aerosol Jet Printing for Biomedical and Industrial Fields: A Preliminary Investigation
G. Polidori, S. Mahraoui, M. Serpelloni
2025 IEEE International Workshop on Metrology for Industry 4.0 and IoT, pp. 145–150, 2025.
The work investigates printed ion-selective sensors based on interdigitated electrode geometries for biomedical and industrial applications.
DOI: 10.1109/MetroInd4.0IoT66048.2025.11122099
Preliminary Study on Electrochemical Sensors for Ion Detection in Agriculture and Environment by Aerosol Jet Printing
G. Polidori, S. Mahraoui, E. Sardini, M. Serpelloni
2025 IEEE International Workshop on Metrology for Industry 4.0 and IoT, pp. 232–237, 2025.
This contribution extends printed electrochemical and ion-selective sensing toward environmental and agricultural monitoring.
DOI: 10.1109/MetroInd4.0IoT66048.2025.11122056
Preliminary Study on Printed Membrane by Aerosol Jet for Ion Detection in Industrial Field
G. Polidori, S. Tonello, M. Serpelloni, M. Giamberini, X. Montané, J.A. Reina
2024 IEEE International Workshop on Metrology for Industry 4.0 and IoT, pp. 1–6, 2024.
The work investigates the use of printed membranes fabricated by Aerosol Jet Printing for ion detection, with particular attention to industrial sensing applications.
DOI: 10.1109/MetroInd4.0IoT61288.2024.10584232
Uncertainty Sources in Aerosol Jet Printed and Flexible Electrochemical Sensors
T. Fapanni, M. Serpelloni, E. Sardini
2022 IEEE International Workshop on Metrology for Industry 4.0 and IoT, pp. 245–249, 2022.
This work analyzes measurement uncertainty sources in Aerosol Jet Printed and flexible electrochemical sensors, linking additive manufacturing with the metrological characterization of sensing devices.
DOI: 10.1109/MetroInd4.0IoT54413.2022.9831522
Related Research Areas
The fabrication technologies used for these sensors are described in Aerosol Jet Printing and Additive Manufacturing of Sensors.
Flexible electronic structures and printed resistive and capacitive devices are presented in Printed and Flexible Electronics.
Wearable applications and human monitoring systems are presented in Wearable and Biomedical Measurement Systems.
A complete list of journal articles and conference papers is available in the Publications section.