Proceedings of nanoGe Spring Meeting 2022 (NSM22)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.nsm.2022.114
Publication date: 7th February 2022
Organic bioelectronics is an emerging interdisciplinary field, encompassing organic electronic interfaces operating in physiological conditions hand-in-hand with biological systems. These interfaces are mostly based on conjugated polymers that have emerged as ideal materials due to their biocompatibility, tissue-like mechanical properties, and their ability to simultaneously conduct electronic and ionic currents. Importantly, these properties can be tailored to meet the requirements of different types of human tissue with relatively easy methods – e.g. by chemical synthesis or by simply mixing wet solutions of conjugated polymers with other additives. These profound advantages enabled the development of organic bioelectronic devices that push the boundaries in a range of applications, from brain interfaces to in vitro diagnostics and tissue engineering. Here we will present the development of multifunctional bioelectronic interfaces to monitor and control cellular activity with conventional electrical measurements, in vitro. First, the development of a free standing, photosensitive platform based on a combination of conjugated polymers will be presented. This platform is able to control wirelessly the activity of primary cortical neurons with white light at low intensity. Later on, the development of 3D mesoporous polymer scaffolds for growing human stem cells tissue will be presented. These structures are made from composites of conjugated polymers and are able to recapitulate 3D tissue-like environments as well as exhibit multifunctional properties (i.e low young modulus, good electrical conductivity and photo-sensitivity). The pore size/network inside the scaffold can be also tailored by changing the amount and the nature of the cross-linker, which can in turn control stem cell growth rates and size. These biomimetic, multifunctional 3D structures are addressed electrically to form 3D electrodes that allow for monitoring human stem cell proliferation rates with electrical impedance measurements. Finally we will present preliminary results on how we can leverage the properties of multifunctional scaffolds to control cell fate and differentiate “naïve” stem cell tissue to neurons via chemical, electrical and light stimulation.
Most of the experimental data presented have been obtained in the Bioelectronic Systems Technology Group led by Professor Róisín Owens at the University of Cambridge, and in the group of Associate professor Sahika Inal at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). I acknowledge funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant, MultiStem (No. 895801).
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