Staff member

Organic electronic materials offer an untapped potential for novel tools for low-invasive electrophysiological recording and stimulation devices. Such materials combine semiconducting properties with tailored surface chemistry, elastic mechanical properties and chemical stability in water. In this work, we investigate solution processed Electrolyte Gated Organic Field Effect Transistors (EGOFETs) based on a small molecule semiconductor. We demonstrate that EGOFETs based on a blend of soluble organic semiconductor 2,8-Difluoro-5,11-bis(triethylsilylethynyl)anthradithiophene (diF-TES-ADT) combined with an insulating polymer show excellent sensitivity and long-term recording under electrophysiological applications. Our devices can stably record the extracellular potential of human pluripotent stem cell derived cardiomyocyte cells (hPSCs-CMs) for several weeks. In addition, cytotoxicity tests of pharmaceutical drugs, such as Norepinephrine and Verapamil was achieved with excellent sensitivity. This work demonstrates that organic transistors based on organic blends are excellent bioelectronics transducer for extracellular electrical recording of excitable cells and tissues thus providing a valid alternative to electrochemical transistors.

JTD Keywords: Bioelectronics, Cardiac cells, Organic electronics, Organic field effect transistors, Organic semiconducting blend

Bistable molecules that behave as switches in solution have long been known. Systems that can be reversibly converted between two stable states that differ in their physical properties are particularly attractive in the development of memory devices when immobilized in substrates. Here, we report a highly robust surface-confined switch based on an electroactive, persistent organic radical immobilized on indium tin oxide substrates that can be electrochemically and reversibly converted to the anion form. This molecular bistable system behaves as an extremely robust redox switch in which an electrical input is transduced into optical as well as magnetic outputs under ambient conditions. The fact that this molecular surface switch, operating at very low voltages, can be patterned and addressed locally, and also has exceptionally high long-term stability and excellent reversibility and reproducibility, makes it a very promising platform for non-volatile memory devices.

JTD Keywords: Self-assembled monolayers, Chromophore-based monolayers, Ultrathin platinum films, Carbon free-radicals, Per-million levels, Polychlorotriphenylmethyl radicals, Electron-transfer, Surface, Logic, Quantification