Organic bioelectronic devices comprise advanced tools for monitoring and controlling physiology. [1] Such devices are based upon organic electronic materials that offer efficient signal transduction from electronic input to ionic output and vice versa, while the toolbox of organic chemistry enables design and tailoring of active materials with desired characteristics, such as functionality, processability, and biocompatibility. [2] Organic bioelectronic devices and materials have been applied in a variety of settings with most of the technologic development focused on neuroscience applications such as high resolution recordings of brain activity, [3] inhibition of neuropathic pain, [4] control of epileptic seizures, [5] and understanding of memory consolidation [6] in animal models. While the field of organic bioelectronics has traditionally targeted biomedical applications, its usefulness and applicability in plants has begun to be explored. Glucose export from isolated chloroplasts was monitored in real time using an organic electrochemical transistor, [7] while the growth of a plant was controlled via the organic electronic ion pump (OEIP). [8] The OEIP is an electrophoretic delivery device that converts electronic addressing signals into ionic fluxes offering precise and dynamic delivery of ions and charged biomolecules. [9] In contrast to other drug delivery devices, the OEIP has a simple design, forgoes flow pumps, and delivers only the ion or drug of interest, and not the solvent or dissolved coions. Drug delivery in the absence of fluid flow eliminates convective disturbances of the target fluidic system, such as shear stress, local pressure increases, and excessive perturbation of native ionic concentration gradients. The OEIP technology is based on a polyelectrolyte channel that provides charge selective electrophoretic delivery thanks to its high fixed ionic charge concentration that suppresses the transport of coions. When voltage is applied across the polyelectrolyte channel of an OEIP device, ions of a specific charge are transported selectively through the channel from the source to the target. Conventional OEIP devices have typically utilized planar geometries and have been manufactured using standard microfabrication techniques. [10] The delivery channel Electronic control of biological processes with bioelectronic devices holds promise for sophisticated regulation of physiology, for gaining fundamental understanding of biological systems, providing new therapeutic solutions, and digitally mediating adaptations of organisms to external factors. The organic electronic ion pump (OEIP) provides a unique means for electronically-controlled, flow-free delivery of ions, and biomolecules at cellular scale. Here, a miniaturized OEIP device based on glass capillary fibers (c-OEIP) is implanted in a biological organism. The capillary form factor at the sub-100 µm scale of the device enables it to be implanted in soft tissue, while its hyperbranched polyelectrolyte channel and addressing protocol allows eff...
Life in our planet
is highly dependent on plants as they are the
primary source of food, regulators of the atmosphere, and providers
of a variety of materials. In this work, we review the progress on
bioelectronic devices for plants and biohybrid systems based on plants,
therefore discussing advancements that view plants either from a biological
or a technological perspective, respectively. We give an overview
on wearable and implantable bioelectronic devices for monitoring and
modulating plant physiology that can be used as tools in basic plant
science or find application in agriculture. Furthermore, we discuss
plant-wearable devices for monitoring a plant’s microenvironment
that will enable optimization of growth conditions. The review then
covers plant biohybrid systems where plants are an integral part of
devices or are converted to devices upon functionalization with smart
materials, including self-organized electronics, plant nanobionics,
and energy applications. The review focuses on advancements based
on organic electronic and carbon-based materials and discusses opportunities,
challenges, as well as future steps.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.