For sensing applications in the body (e.g. detecting inflammation), organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) are the device of choice. Here, biocompatible and biodegradable hydrogel-based scaffolds for OECTs are proposed based on hyaluronic acid (HA) and chondroitin sulfate (CS).<br/>For example, HA hydrogels were synthesised using an EDC coupling procedure and, after mechanical testing, and were found to have elastic moduli between 2 and 120 kPa, matching those of various structures in the central nervous system. The degradation behaviour of the HA hydrogels was also characterised.<br/>For use as the electronically active polymer within the device, PEDOT doped with CS and HA was synthesised and the I/V characteristics were recorded giving sheet resistances around 4.7 kΩ per square which were comparable to previous work by other groups. The HA hydrogels were then combined with PEDOT:HA and/or PEDOT:CS, and the OECT behaviour investigated.

Using hydrogels to create a biodegradable bioelectronic device

2019 Fall National Meeting

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