New Opportunities for Organic Semiconducting Polymers in Biomedical Applications

Abstract

The life expectancy of humans has been significantly elevated due to advancements in medical knowledge and skills over the past few decades. Although a lot of knowledge and skills are disseminated to the general public, electronic devices that quantitatively diagnose one’s own body condition still require specialized semiconductor devices which are huge and not portable. In this regard, semiconductor materials that are lightweight and have low power consumption and high performance should be developed with low cost for mass production. Organic semiconductors are one of the promising materials in biomedical applications due to their functionalities, solution-processability and excellent mechanical properties in terms of flexibility. In this review, we discuss organic semiconductor materials that are widely utilized in biomedical devices. Some advantageous and unique properties of organic semiconductors compared to inorganic semiconductors are reviewed. By critically assessing the fabrication process and device structures in organic-based biomedical devices, the potential merits and future aspects of the organic biomedical devices are pinpointed compared to inorganic devices.

Light‐fueled self‐oscillation of liquid crystal polymer network: Effect of photostabilizers

“…These calculations were conducted using the Tauc theory based on UV-vis spectra of films 51 (see Figure S5a-c Based on these determined bandgap values, it can be classified that the studied LCN polymers fall into the category of semiconducting organic polymers. In the contemporary world of science and technology, semiconductor polymers hold special significance in various applications, including medicine, 52 photovoltaic devices, 53 sensors, 54 biomedical applications, 55 and electronic devices. 56 The research conducted in this study suggests that combining the light-responsive properties of LCN with its electrical responsiveness can greatly enhance its applicability across these fields.…”

All Electrohydrodynamic Printed Flexible Organic Thin Film Transistors

“…Organic thin films transistors (OTFTs) provide a building block for a variety of flexible electronic devices. In OTFTs, organic semiconductors are used as the active layer, including semiconductor polymers [10,11] and small molecules; [3,12] OTFTs are superior to the conventional thin film transistors (TFTs) made from inorganic materials in terms of weight, flexibility, and cost. [13] In addition, organic materials can be processed using solution-based techniques, making the fabrication simpler and feasible at a lower temperature.…”

Aqueous processing of organic semiconductors enabled by stable nanoparticles with built-in surfactants

“…15,16 In the field of electronic manufacturing, OSCs hold an advantage over their inorganic counterparts because of their mechanical properties (flexi-bility, stretchability), relatively low cost, tuneability via chemical synthesis, and their solubility in organic solvents for their controlled processability into devices using scalable methods for industrial manufacture. 17 The most common solvents used to process OSCs during the fabrication of organic electronic devices are mainly chlorinated and highly volatile solvents. 18 These solvents are toxic, harmful for the environment and suspected of causing cancer, 19 because of these reasons of concern, investigations into developing "greener" processing alternatives have increased in recent years.…”