Dielectric Thermal Smart Glass Based on Tunable Helical Polymer-Based Superstructure for Biosensor with Antibacterial Property

Abstract

A dielectric thermal smart glass (DTSG) based on the dielectric heating optical (DHO) effect in tunable helical polymer-based superstructures—cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs)—was exhibited in this study. Field-induced dielectric heating can strongly affect the orientation of liquid crystals and change its optical properties. The purpose of this research focuses on dual-frequency CLC materials characterized by their specific properties on dielectric relaxation and demonstrates their potential for antibacterial biosensor applications. The developed DTSG is driven by voltages with modulated frequencies. The principal of DTSG in transparent states are a planar (P) state and a heated planar (HP) state reflecting infrared light, operated with the voltage at low and high frequencies, respectively. The scattering states are a focal conic (FC) state and a heated FC (HFC) state, with an applied frequency near the crossover frequency. The biomolecule detection of the antibacterial property was also demonstrated. The detection limitation of the DTSG biosensor was found to be about 0.5 µg/mL. The DTSG material has many potential industrial applications, such as in buildings, photonic devices, and biosensor applications.

Gold-Based Nanostructures for Antibacterial Application

“…Semiconductor, metal, and polymer nanostructures have been extensively investigated as antibacterial agents because of their unique chemical and physical characteristics [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ]. Among these nanostructures, metal-based nanostructures such as gold (Au), silver, platinum, and copper have been explored as antibacterial agents [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ].…”

Label-Free, Color-Indicating, Polarizer-Free Dye-Doped Liquid Crystal Microfluidic Polydimethylsiloxane Biosensing Chips for Detecting Albumin

“…The first CLC biosensor was invented in 2015 [ 26 ] in which a high-sensitivity CLC biosensor was shown. However, CLC biosensors require complicated fabrication processes [ 27 , 28 , 29 ]. To simplify the procedures, a single-substrate device was invented [ 30 ].…”

Dynamics of Electrically Driven Cholesteric Liquid Crystals by Triboelectrification and Their Application in Self-Powered Information Securing and Vision Correcting

“…Cholesteric LCs (CLCs) are optically active liquid crystalline materials that typically have a periodic helical arrangement of molecular directors from layer to layer. − CLCs can be controlled by an electric field that allows molecules rearrangement to obtain different stable states, which is attributed to the intrinsic optical bistable property of the CLC crystals . The main advantage of CLCs over the other types of LCs is that they demonstrate display characteristics without the need for optical preparation, which involves devices such as a polarizer, color filter, and external backlight source. , Most importantly, CLCs are bistable in planar (P) and focal conic (FC) states, which means that no power is required to maintain the CLCs in either state and they can be switched between these states by voltage pulses. − Because they are bistable and their optical preparation is simplified, CLCs have the enormous advantage of affording devices that have low fabrication costs and require low energy to operate. However, external energy is usually required for switching CLCs between the P and FC states, which can hinder practical applications such as wearable and portable devices.…”