Conducting Polymers in Biological Systems

Electronics based on π-conjugated organic polymers and molecules have been extensively explored during the last years. The significant interest in the development of organic electronics results in part from the fact that this technology offers new or improved electroactive and opto-electronic features as compared to the inorganic counterparts. The organic electronic materials may be flexible andcan be also fabricated using printing devices. Other characteristics that make organic electronic materials promising as the active material in bioelectronics include:

Functionality which can easily be defined at the materials level, giving that chemical biosignals can be translated into electronics signatures or signals within the material itself.In the thin-layer state organic electronic materials are often transparent, which permits optical transmission imaging and use of various microscopy-based techniques when analyzing biological specimens interacting with the tool.Organic electronic materials are soft and can be (self-)organized to mimic biological structures.Organic conjugated materials conduct electrons as well as ions.Organic conjugated materials can be equipped with (bio-) molecular side-groups to promote cell viability.