74 research outputs found
Towards flexible organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) for biosensing
We have studied parylene-N and parylene-C for their use as substrates and gate dielectrics in OTFTs. Parylene-N films with a thickness of 300 nm show the required dielectric properties, as verified by breakthrough-voltage measurements. The surface roughness measured for 300 nm thick parylene-N films is 4-5 nm. However, initial growth of parylene depends on the subjacent surface. This results in different thicknesses on Au electrodes and substrate materials for thin films. Capping of micropatterned Au-electrodes with a thin Al layer via lift-off results in homogenous parylene film thickness on the whole sample surface. OTFTs are fabricated on glass with parylene-N as a gate dielectric and pentacene as a semiconductor. The electrodes are patterned by photolithography enabling micrometer sized features. The contact resistance is extracted by variation of the channel length. Modification of the parylene dielectric layer surface by plasma treatment with oxygen after deposition allows shifting of the threshold voltage to more positive values, however at the cost of increasing hysteresis. OTFTs fabricated on thin parylene-C films can be peeled off and could result in flexible devices employing parylene-C foil as a substrate. For a foil thickness of 3-4 mu m, operational devices can be bent down to radii less than 1 mm, e.g. in the range of cannulas. Operation of such OTFTs with parylene-C as a gate dielectric in liquids is demonstrated. The OTFT current can be modulated by the potential in the electrolyte as well as by the bottom gate potential. This allows for application of such OTFTs as sensors in medical devices
Ammonia sensing for enzymatic urea detection using organic field effect transistors and a semipermeable membrane
Organic Field Effect Transistors (OFETs) are used to measure ammonia in solution via ammonia diffusion into the OFET channel. An increase in ammonia concentrations results in a decrease in transistor currents. The regeneration of the OFET current after ammonia uptake is slow, which allows us to read out the maximum ammonia dose which was applied. A 100 nm parylene-C layer serves as a semipermeable top gate dielectric. The parylene layer is functionalized with the covalently attached enzyme urease. The enzyme catalyses the hydrolysis of urea to ammonia and carbon dioxide, i.e. urea can be detected via its hydrolysis product ammonia. The sensitivity covers a range of physiological concentrations of urea, which are several mM
Ammonia sensing for enzymatic urea detection using organic field effect transistors and a semipermeable membrane
Organic Field Effect Transistors (OFETs) are used to measure ammonia in solution via ammonia diffusion into the OFET channel. An increase in ammonia concentrations results in a decrease in transistor currents. The regeneration of the OFET current after ammonia uptake is slow, which allows us to read out the maximum ammonia dose which was applied. A 100 nm parylene-C layer serves as a semipermeable top gate dielectric. The parylene layer is functionalized with the covalently attached enzyme urease. The enzyme catalyses the hydrolysis of urea to ammonia and carbon dioxide, i.e. urea can be detected via its hydrolysis product ammonia. The sensitivity covers a range of physiological concentrations of urea, which are several mM
Neural Stem Cell Spreading on Lipid Based Artificial Cell Surfaces, Characterized by Combined X-ray and Neutron Reflectometry
We developed a bioadhesive coating based on a synthetic peptide-conjugate (AK-cycloRGDfC]) which contains multiples of the arginyl-glycyl-aspartic acid (RGD) amino acid sequence. Biotinylated AK-cycloRGDfC] is bound to a supported lipid bilayer via a streptavidin interlayer. Layering, hydration and packing of the coating is quantified by X-ray and neutron reflectometry experiments. AK-cycloRGDfC] binds to the streptavidin interlayer in a stretched-out on edge configuration. The highly packed configuration with only 12% water content maximizes the number of accessible adhesion sites. Enhanced cell spreading of neural stem cells was observed for AK-cycloRGDfC] functionalized bilayers. Due to the large variety of surfaces which can be coated by physisorption of lipid bilayers, this approach is of general interest for the fabrication of biocompatible surfaces
Influence of Ibuprofen on Phospholipid Membranes
Basic understanding of biological membranes is of paramount importance as
these membranes comprise the very building blocks of life itself. Cells depend
in their function on a range of properties of the membrane, which are important
for the stability and function of the cell, information and nutrient transport,
waste disposal and finally the admission of drugs into the cell and also the
deflection of bacteria and viruses.
We have investigated the influence of ibuprofen on the structure and dynamics
of L-alpha-phosphatidylcholine (SoyPC) membranes by means of grazing incidence
small-angle neutron scattering (GISANS), neutron reflectometry and grazing
incidence neutron spin echo spectroscopy (GINSES). From the results of these
experiments we were able to determine that ibuprofen induces a two-step
structuring behavior in the SoyPC films, where the structure evolves from the
purely lamellar phase for pure SoyPC over a superposition of two hexagonal
phases to a purely hexago- nal phase at high concentrations. Additionally,
introduction of ibuprofen stiffens the membranes. This behavior may be
instrumental in explaining the toxic behavior of ibuprofen in long-term
application.Comment: -Improved indexing in Fig. 4e) -changed concentrations to mol%
-improved arguments, however conclusions stay unchange
Lead-free, luminescent perovskite nanocrystals obtained through ambient condition synthesis
Heterovalent substitution of toxic lead is an increasingly popular design
strategy to obtain environmentally sustainable variants of the exciting
material class of halide perovskites. Perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) obtained
through solution-based methods exhibit exceedingly high optical quality.
Unfortunately, most of these synthesis routes still require reaction under
inert gas and at very high temperatures. Herein we present a novel synthesis
routine for lead-free double perovskite NCs. We combine hot injection and
ligand-assisted reprecipitation (LARP) methods to achieve a low-temperature and
ambient atmosphere-based synthesis for manganese-doped Cs_{2}NaBiCl_{6} NCs. Mn
incorporation is critical for the otherwise non-emissive material, with a 9:1
Bi:Mn precursor ratio maximizing the bright orange photoluminescence (PL) and
quantum yield (QY). Higher temperatures slightly increased the material's
performance, yet NCs synthesized at room temperature were still emissive,
highlighting the versatility of the synthetic approach. Furthermore, the NCs
show excellent long-term stability in ambient conditions, facilitating
additional investigations and energy-related applications
Wafer scale synthesis of organic semiconductor nanosheets for van der Waals heterojunction devices
Arrangement of Annexin A2 tetramer and its impact on the structure and diffusivity of supported lipid bilayers
Annexins are a family of proteins that bind to anionic phospholipid membranes
in a Ca2+-dependent manner. Annexin A2 forms heterotetramers (Anx A2t) with the
S100A10 (p11) protein dimer. The tetramer is capable of bridging phospholipid
membranes and it has been suggested to play a role in Ca2+-dependent exocytosis
and cell-cell adhesion of metastatic cells. Here, we employ x-ray reflectivity
measurements to resolve the conformation of Anx A2t upon Ca2+-dependent binding
to single supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) composed of different mixtures of
anionic (POPS) and neutral (POPC) phospholipids. Based on our results we
propose that Anx A2t binds in a side-by-side configuration, i.e., both Anx A2
monomers bind to the bilayer with the p11 dimer positioned on top. Furthermore,
we observe a strong decrease of lipid mobility upon binding of Anx A2t to SLBs
with varying POPS content. X-ray reflectivity measurements indicate that
binding of Anx A2t also increases the density of the SLB. Interestingly, in the
protein-facing leaflet of the SLB the lipid density is higher than in the
substrate-facing leaflet. This asymmetric densification of the lipid bilayer by
Anx A2t and Ca2+ might have important implications for the biochemical
mechanism of Anx A2t-induced endo- and exocytosis.Comment: 27 pages, 7 figures; supplementary material available upon request
from the author
3D-printed SAXS chamber for controlled in situ dialysis and optical characterization
3D printing changes the scope of how samples can be mounted for small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). In this paper a 3D-printed X-ray chamber, which allows for in situ exchange of buffer and in situ optical transmission spectroscopy, is presented. The chamber is made of cyclic olefin copolymers (COC), including COC X-ray windows providing ultra-low SAXS background. The design integrates a membrane insert for in situ dialysis of the 100 ml sample volume against a reservoir, which enables measurements of the same sample under multiple conditions using an in-house X-ray setup equipped with a 17.4 keV molybdenum source. The design's capabilities are demonstrated by measuring reversible structural changes in lipid and polymer systems as a function of salt concentration and pH. In the same chambers optical light transmission spectroscopy was carried out measuring the optical turbidity of the mesophases and local pH values using pH-responsive dyes. Microfluidic exchange and optical spectroscopy combined with in situ X-ray scattering enables vast applications for the study of responsive materials
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