<p>New acceptor moieties with extended conjugation have been developed  for further understanding of structure-property relationships in donor-acceptor type semiconducting polymers. These diketopyrrolopyrrole or isoindigo based conjugated polymers have been demonstrated as functional materials in organic field effect transistors, photoacoustic imaging and organic electrochemical transistors. With demonstrations of semiconducting molecular design, we hope to spark new research directions especially on deeper investigation of charge transport dependence on chemical structures, and new design strategies of acceptor moieties with extended conjugation could be applied for targeted applications.</p>

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This report aims to study the degradation of poly(trimethylene carbonate) (PTMC) caused by the enzyme carboxylesterase in vitro. As well as to characterise polymer blends of f-BTI2g-TVTCN and poly(3-hydroxybutyric acid) as core components for organic electrochemical transistors (OETCs). This is to assess the suitability of these polymers in biodegradable biosensors. The degradation study of PTMC showed a lack of degradation in contrast to previous studies performed on the material; previous studies recorded a mass loss of between (5-8)% after two months. The cause for this discrepancy is still unknown but the evidence points to both systematic faults in the gravimetric analysis as well as random errors found in the equipment. The OECT showed that increasing the PHB fraction in the polymer blend resulted in a higher output. The most stable device consisted of a 1:6 blend of f-BTI2g-TVTCN to PHB. Fewer tests were conducted on the 1:10 blend because two devices were damaged during the experiment. The statistical impact of the smaller sample size cannot be overstated so further testing should be conducted to verify the results.

L’enregistrement et la stimulation in vivo de l’activité neuronale peuvent aussi bien servir pour la recherche médicale que pour les interfaces cerveau-machine. Les dispositifs à base d’électronique organique sont de prometteurs candidats pour ce faire, grâce à leur flexibilité et leur biocompatibilité. Le contrôle local de l’activité neuronale est la clé de nombreuses stratégies thérapeutiques visant à traiter les troubles neurologiques. Une solution idéale serait donc de fabriquer un dispositif capable de détecter l’activité neuronale et, en réponse, d’injecter des molécules endogènes. L’un des objectifs de cette thèse est de s’attaquer à cette problématique à l’aide d’un dispositif permettant à la fois de stimuler les cellules, et de mesurer l’activité neuronale, au même endroit, à l’échelle cellulaire. Nous présentons un dispositif organique capable de délivrer précisément des neurotransmetteurs in vitro et in vivo. En convertissant un signal électrique en la délivrance de neurotransmetteurs, le dispositif mime le fonctionnement d’une synapse. Le neurotransmetteur inhibiteur, l’acide γ- aminobutyrique (GABA), est relargué au niveau des électrodes d’enregistrement par l’activation d’une pompe ionique électronique. L’injection du GABA engendre l’arrêt de l’activité épileptique qui a été enregistré au niveau des électrodes. Des dispositifs multifonctionnels ouvrent de nombreuses possibilités, incluant des dispositifs thérapeutiques avec des boucles de retour, avec lesquels l’enregistrement local de signaux régule la délivrance d’agents thérapeutiques. De plus, nous avons également réalisé pendant cette thèse l’intégration de transistors organiques sur un film organique ultra fin, pour mesurer les signaux électrophysiologiques in vivo à la surface d’un cerveau de rat. Le dispositif, implanté de façon épidurale, montre des résultats surpassant certains dispositifs subduraux de taille similaire, permettant ainsi une approche moins invasive et efficace pour mesurer l’activité neuronale. / Recordings and stimulation of in vivo neural activity are necessary for diagnostic purposes and for brain-machine interfaces. Organic electronic devices constitute a promising candidate due to their mechanical flexibility and biocompatibility. Local control of neuronal activity is central to many therapeutic strategies aiming to treat neurological disorders. Arguably, the best solution would make use of endogenous highly localized and specialized regulatory mechanisms of neuronal activity, and an ideal therapeutic technology should sense activity and deliver endogenous molecules simultaneously to achieve the most efficient feedback regulation. Thus, there is a need for novel devices to specifically interface nerve cells. Here, we demonstrate an organic electronic device capable of precisely delivering neurotransmit- ters in vitro and in vivo. In converting electronic addressing into delivery of neurotransmit- ters, the device mimics the nerve synapse. The inhibitory neurotransmitter, -aminobutyric acid (GABA), was actively delivered and stopped epileptiform activity, recorded simultaneously and colocally. These multifunctional devices create a range of opportunities, including implantable therapeutic devices with automated feedback, where locally recorded signals regulate local release of specific therapeutic agents. In addition, we demonstrate the engineering of an organic electrochemical transistor embedded in an ultrathin organic film designed to record electrophysiological signals on the surface of the brain. The device was applied in vivo and epidurally implanted could reach capabilities beyond similar sized electrodes allowing minimally invasive monitoring of brain activity.

Despite their increasing usefulness in a wide variety of applications, organic electrochemical transistors still lack a comprehensive and unifying physical framework able to describe the current-voltage characteristics and the polymer/electrolyte interactions simultaneously. Building upon thermodynamic axioms, we present a quantitative analysis of the operation of organic electrochemical transistors. We reveal that the entropy of mixing is the main driving force behind the redox mechanism that rules the transfer properties of such devices in electrolytic environments. In the light of these findings, we show that traditional models used for organic electrochemical transistors, based on the theory of field-effect transistors, fall short as they treat the active material as a simple capacitor while ignoring the material properties and energetic interactions. Finally, by analyzing a large spectrum of solvents and device regimes, we quantify the entropic and enthalpic contributions and put forward an approach for targeted material design and device applications.

Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) based on Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (PEDOT:PSS) are a benchmark system in organic bioelectronics. In particular, the superior mechanical properties and the ionic-electronic transduction yield excellent potential for the field of implantable or wearable sensing technology. However, depletion-mode operation PEDOT:PSS-based OECTs cause high static power dissipation in electronic circuits, limiting their application in electronic systems. Hence, having control over the threshold voltage is of utmost technological importance. Here, PEDOT:PSS-based dual-gate OECTs with solid-state electrolyte where the threshold voltage is seamlessly adjustable during operation are demonstrated. It is shown that the degree of threshold voltage tuning linearly depends on the gate capacitance, which is a straightforward approach for circuit designers to adjust the threshold voltage only by the device dimensions. The PEDOT:PSS-based dual-gate OECTs show excellent device performance and can be pushed to accumulation-mode operation, resulting in a simplified and relaxed design of complementary inverters.

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