Optimizing Antiambipolarity in OMIECs for Efficient Biohybrid Synapses

ongoing

Neurological diseases are now the leading contributor to the global health burden, affecting one in three individuals worldwide. In response to this critical issue, the development of innovative organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors (OMIECs) that emulate the ion-regulated electronic conductivity and dynamics of biological ion channels when implemented in organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) has paved the way for electronic devices capable of replicating neuronal functionality, namely conductance-based organic electrochemical neurons (c-OECNs). Despite the progress towards emulating biological neuron functions, current c-OECNs are limited by their inability to generate biologically plausible spike frequencies and their high power consumption, which hinder their integration with biological systems. In this sense, OASYS plans to overcome this challenge by developing innovative OMIECs with optimized ambipolarity characteristics and fabricating wearable and biorealistic c-OECNs that can be fully integrated with biological systems. This will be realized by using rationally designed bithiophene imide (BTI)-based polymers that operate at low gate voltages, enabling faster OECT devices with reduced power consumption and enhanced spike frequencies. OASYS integrates cutting-edge polymer design, advanced material characterization, and innovative device engineering in an application-oriented approach to tackle critical challenges such as antiambipolar tunability, selective sensing, wearability, and biointegration.