Soft, Wet and Ionic Microelectrode Systems

Engineering the interface between electric devices and ionic biosystems is of central importance to the advancement of biomedical devices. We have developed organic electrodes that are soft and moist like biological systems. Their larger interfacial capacitance is of advantage for the low-invasive electrical stimulation of cells and tissues without cytotoxic faradaic reactions. Conducting polymer-based composite electrodes developed here were useful for bioassay and medical treatments. The performance of enzyme-modified electrodes, which are the core component of biosensors and biofuel cells, was found to be greatly improved by utilizing nanostructures of carbon nanotubes (CNT). Self-powered sensors and skin patches were realized by using built-in biofuel cells with the CNT-based enzyme electrodes.