Leveraging triboelectric nanogenerators for bioengineering

Global concern on health has raised tremendous interest in accessing various physiological status data of the human body via diverse wearable bioelectronics. Continuous and long-term monitoring of the body is preferred since new diseases are always emerging in a sudden manner, including the recent severe acute respiratory syndrome novel coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). On the one hand, using wearable devices has been becoming a popular lifestyle to access the personal health status anywhere and anytime. On the other hand, with an increasing elderly population, finding practical health care solutions is becoming more challenging than ever. Compared with acute diseases that may be treated intensively in a relatively short amount of time, chronic diseases bring forth many clinical treatment requirements, including the need for long-term health condition monitoring, continuous health Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are able to convert low -frequency biomechanical motions into characteristically high-voltage and low-current electrical signals via a coupling of contact electrification and electrostatic induction. Resulting from a unique working principle, TENGs hold a collection of compelling features, including light weight, structural simplicity, cost-effectiveness, biocompatibility, and a wide range of soft materials choices. Electrical signals generated from human body motions via TENGs could be used as sustainable power sources, active biomonitors, and electrical stimulation therapeutics for bioengineering. Here we comprehensively reviewed the advancements in using TENGs for on-body energy, sensing, and therapeutic applications to build up a body area network (BAN) for personalized health care. We concluded our review with a discussion of the challenges and problems of leveraging triboelectric nanogenerators for bioengineering.