title: Stable organic field-effect transistors for continuous and nondestructive sensing of chemical and biologically relevant molecules in aqueous environment.
abstract: The use of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) as sensors in aqueous media has gained increased attention for environmental monitoring and medical diagnostics. However, stable operation of OFETs in aqueous media is particularly challenging because of electrolytic hydrolysis of water, high ionic conduction through the analyte, and irreversible damage of organic semiconductors when exposed to water. To date, OFET sensors have shown the capability of label-free sensing of various chemical/biological species, but they could only be used once because their operational stability and lifetime while operating in aqueous environments has been poor, and their response times typically slow. Here, we report on OFETs with unprecedented water stability. These OFETs are suitable for the implementation of reusable chemical/biological sensors because they primarily respond to charged species diluted in an aqueous media by rapidly shifting their threshold voltage. These OFET sensors present stable current baselines and saturated signals which are ideal for detection of low concentration of small or large molecules that alter the pH of an aqueous environment. The overall response of these OFET sensors paves the way for the development of continuous chemical/biological nondestructive sensor applications in aqueous media.
authors.affiliation: Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics (COPE), School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0250, United States.
authors.forename: Minseong
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yun
authors.forename: Asha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Canek
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fuentes-Hernandez
authors.forename: Do Kyung
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dindar
authors.forename: Sanjeev
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Sangmoo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kippelen
mesh_terms: D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D004560:Electricity; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D014173:Transistors, Electronic; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D014867:Water