Liquid–Solid Dual-Gate Organic Transistors with Tunable Threshold Voltage for Cell Sensing

Zhang, Yu; Li, Jun; Li, Rui; Sbircea, Dan-Tiberiu; Giovannitti, Alexander; Xu, Junling; Xu, Huihua; Zhou, Guodong; Bian, Liming; McCulloch, Iain; Zhao, Ni

Liquid–Solid Dual-Gate Organic Transistors with Tunable Threshold Voltage for Cell Sensing

Type

Article

Authors

Zhang, Yu
Li, Jun
Li, Rui
Sbircea, Dan-Tiberiu
Giovannitti, Alexander

Xu, Junling
Xu, Huihua
Zhou, Guodong
Bian, Liming

McCulloch, Iain

Zhao, Ni

KAUST Department

Chemical Science Program
KAUST Solar Center (KSC)
Physical Science and Engineering (PSE) Division

Online Publication Date

2017-10-25

Print Publication Date

2017-11-08

Date

2017-10-25

Abstract

Liquid electrolyte-gated organic field effect transistors and organic electrochemical transistors have recently emerged as powerful technology platforms for sensing and simulation of living cells and organisms. For such applications, the transistors are operated at a gate voltage around or below 0.3 V because prolonged application of a higher voltage bias can lead to membrane rupturing and cell death. This constraint often prevents the operation of the transistors at their maximum transconductance or most sensitive regime. Here, we exploit a solid–liquid dual-gate organic transistor structure, where the threshold voltage of the liquid-gated conduction channel is controlled by an additional gate that is separated from the channel by a metal-oxide gate dielectric. With this design, the threshold voltage of the “sensing channel” can be linearly tuned in a voltage window exceeding 0.4 V. We have demonstrated that the dual-gate structure enables a much better sensor response to the detachment of human mesenchymal stem cells. In general, the capability of tuning the optimal sensing bias will not only improve the device performance but also broaden the material selection for cell-based organic bioelectronics.

Citation

Zhang Y, Li J, Li R, Sbircea D-T, Giovannitti A, et al. (2017) Liquid–Solid Dual-Gate Organic Transistors with Tunable Threshold Voltage for Cell Sensing. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 9: 38687–38694. Available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b09384.

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge funding from the Research Grant Council of Hong Kong (grant no. CUHK14218716).