title: Geometrical Patterning of Super-Hydrophobic Biosensing Transistors Enables Space and Time Resolved Analysis of Biological Mixtures.
abstract: PSS is a conductive polymer that can be integrated into last generation Organic Electrochemical Transistor (OECT) devices for biological inspection, identification and analysis. While a variety of reports in literature demonstrated the chemical and biological sensitivity of these devices, still their ability in resolving complex mixtures remains controversial. Similar OECT devices display good time dynamics behavior but lack spatial resolution. In this work, we integrated
  PSS with patterns of super-hydrophobic pillars in which a finite number of those pillars is independently controlled for site-selective measurement of a solution. We obtained a multifunctional, hierarchical OECT device that bridges the micro- to the nano-scales for specific, combined time and space resolved analysis of the sample. Due to super-hydrophobic surface properties, the biological species in the drop are driven by convection, diffusion, and the externally applied electric field: the balance/unbalance between these forces will cause the molecules to be transported differently within its volume depending on particle size thus realizing a size-selective separation. Within this framework, the separation and identification of two different molecules, namely Cetyl Trimethyl Ammonium Bromid (CTAB) and adrenaline, in a biological mixture have been demonstrated, showing that geometrical control at the micro-nano scale impart unprecedented selectivity to the devices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, University of Naples, 80125, Naples, Italy.|Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Magna Graecia, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gentile
authors.affiliation: Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego 30, 16163 Genova, Italy.
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ferrara
authors.affiliation: IMEM-CNR Parco Area delle Scienze 37/A - 43124 Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Villani
authors.affiliation: IMEM-CNR Parco Area delle Scienze 37/A - 43124 Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Manuele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bettelli
authors.affiliation: IMEM-CNR Parco Area delle Scienze 37/A - 43124 Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iannotta
authors.affiliation: IMEM-CNR Parco Area delle Scienze 37/A - 43124 Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zappettini
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, University of Naples, 80125, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cesarelli
authors.affiliation: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Enzo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Di Fabrizio
authors.affiliation: IMEM-CNR Parco Area delle Scienze 37/A - 43124 Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Coppedè
mesh_terms: D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D000077286:Cetrimonium; D002593:Cetrimonium Compounds / Q000032:analysis*; D004573:Electrolytes / Q000737:chemistry; D004837:Epinephrine / Q000032:analysis*; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D057446:Hydrodynamics; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000737:chemistry; D013997:Time Factors; D014173:Transistors, Electronic
chemical_list: D002593:Cetrimonium Compounds; D004573:Electrolytes; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D004837:Epinephrine; D012825:Silicon; D000077286:Cetrimonium