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Perspective on the Advancements in Conjugated Polymer Synthesis, Design, and Functionality over the Past Ten Years
Published in John R. Reynolds, Barry C. Thompson, Terje A. Skotheim, Conjugated Polymers, 2019
Brian Schmatz, Robert M. Pankow, Barry C. Thompson, John R. Reynolds
While electrochemically prepared polyaniline and polypyrrole were used for biosensing applications in the 80s and 90s, greater control over polymer synthesis has led to a rebirth in the area of conjugated polymer bioelectronics. The main efforts in this area center around an organic electrochemical transistor (OECT), which is a type of biosensor that translates ionic flux in biological media to changes in transistor current, and the organic electronic ion pump, which can be used to regulate flow of ions.[123] Both of these devices rely on the active material’s ability to transport both electronic and ionic charges, and so work over the next decade will seek to find ways to modify high charge mobility conjugated polymers to also exhibit ionic transport. As mentioned in the side chain engineering section of this chapter, oligoether side chains have been used to promote ionic interactions in conjugated polymers for OECT applications, but there are still many possibilities to explore in terms of both side chain and backbone modification to enhance ionic transport. Outside of bioelectronics, conjugated polymers are promising materials for tissue engineering and imaging applications. Soft materials are ideal for replicating tissue, but not many soft materials are electroactive. Conjugated polymers can bridge this gap, and have been used for cell scaffolding applications where oxidation of the polymer leads to more effective cell growth and differentiation.[124] For imaging applications, conjugated polymers can be engineered for high fluorescence, biocompatibility, and potentially specific binding to analytes through side chain modification.[125]
Medical textiles
Published in Textile Progress, 2020
Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) are devices composed of a stripe of conductive polymer that works as a channel and another electrode that works as a gate. Between them is an electrolyte solution. The channel current can be modulated by the gate voltage through electrochemical reactions that change the charge-carrier concentration in the transistor channel material and thus alter the conductivity of the channel. An OECT was developed which consisted wholly of the flexible conductive polymer PEDOT:PSS [658] and this was screen-printed onto/embedded into a flexible fabric made of woven cotton/Lycra® to enable the non-invasive monitoring of biomarkers in external body fluids [669, 670].