Organic Electronics at the Interface with Biology
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Róisín M. Owens and George G. Malliaras Abstract The emergence of organic electronics represents one of the most dramatic technological developments of the past two decades. Perhaps the most important frontier of this field involves the interface with biology. The “soft” nature of organics offers better mechanical compatibility with tissue than traditional electronic materials, while their natural compatibility with mechanically flexible substrates suits the nonplanar form factors often required for implants. More importantly, the ability of organics to conduct ions in addition to electrons and holes opens up a new communication channel with biology. In this article, we consider a few examples that illustrate the coupling between organic electronics and biology and highlight new directions of research.
an organic electronic device; for example, an enzymatic reaction changes the current flowing through a polymer transistor. In the reverse direction, an organic electronic device triggers a biochemical reaction or biological process; for example, the application of a bias on a conducting polymer electrode stimulates a neuron to fire an action potential. In this article, we consider some research highlights that illustrate different aspects of organic bioelectronics. We follow the scheme dictated by Figure 2 and discuss research in terms of the direction in which information flows between organic electronics and biology. This is not meant to be a comprehensive review of past work but rather a selection of examples that underscore a recent trend: namely, the increasing use of organic devices (as opposed to simple organic coatings) at the interface with biology. We believe that the added functionality engendered from coupling with an organic electronic device opens up new synergies and will generate new, exciting bioelectronic technologies.
Organic Electronics ← Biology
Introduction Organic electronics deals with the application of carbon-based semiconductors in the form of conjugated small molecules and polymers in electronic and optoelectronic devices.1 These materials have attracted interest due to the synthetic tunability of their electronic properties and their lowtemperature processing. Research on organic electronics dates back to the 1960s to studies of the properties of organic crystals.2 At the end of the 1970s, Heeger et al. demonstrated that the conjugated polymer polyacetylene can become highly conducting when doped with iodine3—a discovery for which they won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2000. The 1980s witnessed the commercialization of organic electronic materials in electrophotography.4 The decade closed with the observation of efficient electroluminescence, which gave birth to the organic light-emitting diode (OLED).5,6 The field experienced tremendous development in the 1990s as OLEDs, organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs), and organic photovoltaics (OPVs) became the subjects of intense research and development. The publication trends shown in Figure 1 (notice the logarithmic axis) highlight the e
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