Inhalable drug-loaded silk fibroin carriers for pulmonary drug delivery.

The design and development of engineered micro and nano-carriers offering superior therapeutic performance compared to traditional delivery forms, are crucial in pharmaceutical research. Aerosolization and inhalation of carriers with improved solubility/stability of insoluble drugs, has huge potential for targeted drug delivery (DD) in various pulmonary diseases. Indeed, dedicated carriers must meet specific dimensional rules for proper lung delivery.

High versatility of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste for the development of batteries, biosensing and gas sensing devices.

Continuously growing adoption of electronic devices in energy storage, human health and environmental monitoring systems increases demand for cost-effective, lightweight, comfortable, and highly efficient functional structures. In this regard, the recycling and reuse of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste in the aforementioned fields due to its excellent mechanical properties and chemical resistance is an effective solution to reduce plastic waste. Herein, we review recent advances in synthesis procedures and research studies on the integration of PET into energy storage (Li-ion batteries) and the detection of gaseous and biological species.

Silk Fibroin Materials: Biomedical Applications and Perspectives.

The golden rule in tissue engineering is the creation of a synthetic device that simulates the native tissue, thus leading to the proper restoration of its anatomical and functional integrity, avoiding the limitations related to approaches based on autografts and allografts. The emergence of synthetic biocompatible materials has led to the production of innovative scaffolds that, if combined with cells and/or bioactive molecules, can improve tissue regeneration. In the last decade, silk fibroin (SF) has gained attention as a promising biomaterial in regenerative medicine due to its enhanced bio/cytocompatibility, chemical stability, and mechanical properties.

Kombucha electronics: electronic circuits on kombucha mats.

A kombucha is a tea and sugar fermented by over sixty kinds of yeasts and bacteria. This symbiotic community produces kombucha mats, which are cellulose-based hydrogels. The kombucha mats can be used as an alternative to animal leather in industry and fashion once they have been dried and cured.

Lab on a Chip Device for Diagnostic Evaluation and Management in Chronic Renal Disease: A Change Promoting Approach in the Patients' Follow Up.

Lab-on-a-chip (LOC) systems are miniaturized devices aimed to perform one or several analyses, normally carried out in a laboratory setting, on a single chip. LOC systems have a wide application range, including diagnosis and clinical biochemistry. In a clinical setting, LOC systems can be associated with the Point-of-Care Testing (POCT) definition.

Organic Bioelectronics Development in Italy: A Review.

In recent years, studies concerning Organic Bioelectronics have had a constant growth due to the interest in disciplines such as medicine, biology and food safety in connecting the digital world with the biological one. Specific interests can be found in organic neuromorphic devices and organic transistor sensors, which are rapidly growing due to their low cost, high sensitivity and biocompatibility. This trend is evident in the literature produced in Italy, which is full of breakthrough papers concerning organic transistors-based sensors and organic neuromorphic devices.

Homocysteine Solution-Induced Response in Aerosol Jet Printed OECTs by Means of Gold and Platinum Gate Electrodes.

Homocysteine (Hcy) is a non-protein, sulfur-containing amino acid, which is recognized as a possible risk factor for coronary artery and other pathologies when its levels in the blood exceed the normal range of between 5 and 12 μmol/L (hyperhomocysteinemia). At present, standard procedures in laboratory medicine, such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), are commonly employed for the quantitation of total Hcy (tHcy), i.e.

3D Printed Masks for Powders and Viruses Safety Protection Using Food Grade Polymers: Empirical Tests.

The production of 3D printed safety protection devices (SPD) requires particular attention to the material selection and to the evaluation of mechanical resistance, biological safety and surface roughness related to the accumulation of bacteria and viruses. We explored the possibility to adopt additive manufacturing technologies for the production of respirator masks, responding to the sudden demand of SPDs caused by the emergency scenario of the pandemic spread of SARS-COV-2. In this study, we developed different prototypes of masks, exclusively applying basic additive manufacturing technologies like fused deposition modeling (FDM) and droplet-based precision extrusion deposition (db-PED) to common food packaging materials.

Scaling Organic Electrochemical Transistors Down to Nanosized Channels.

The perspective of downscaling organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) in the nanorange is approached by depositing poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) on electrodes with a nanogap designed and fabricated by electromigration induced break junction (EIBJ) technique. The electrical response of the fabricated devices is obtained by acquiring transfer characteristics in order to clarify the specific main characteristics of OECTs with sub-micrometer-sized active channels (nanogap-OECTs). On the basis of their electrical response to different scan times, the nanogap-OECT shows a maximum transconductance unaffected upon changing scan times in the time window from 1 s to 100 µs, meaning that fast varying signals can be easily acquired with unchanged amplifying performance.

Multifunctional Operation of an Organic Device with Three-Dimensional Architecture.

This work aims to show the feasibility of an innovative approach for the manufacturing of organic-based devices with a true three-dimensional and customizable structure that is made possible by plastic templates, fabricated by additive manufacturing methods, and coated by conducting organic thin films. Specifically, a three-dimensional prototype based on a polyamide structure covered by poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) using the dip-coating technique demonstrated a multifunctional character. The prototype is indeed able to operate both as a three-terminal device showing the typical response of organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs), with a higher amplification performance with respect to planar (2D) all-PEDOT:PSS OECTs, and as a two-terminal device able to efficiently implement a resistive sensing of water vaporization and perspiration, showing performances at least comparable to that of state-of-art resistive humidity sensors based on pristine PEDOT:PSS.

PEDOT:PSS Morphostructure and Ion-To-Electron Transduction and Amplification Mechanisms in Organic Electrochemical Transistors.

Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) represent a powerful and versatile type of organic-based device, widely used in biosensing and bioelectronics due to potential advantages in terms of cost, sensitivity, and system integration. The benchmark organic semiconductor they are based on is poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS), the electrical properties of which are reported to be strongly dependent on film morphology and structure. In particular, the literature demonstrates that film processing induces morphostructural changes in terms of conformational rearrangements in the PEDOT:PSS in-plane phase segregation and out-of-plane vertical separation between adjacent PEDOT-rich domains.

Integration of organic electrochemical transistors and immuno-affinity membranes for label-free detection of interleukin-6 in the physiological concentration range through antibody-antigen recognition.

We demonstrate the label-free and selective detection of interleukin-6 (IL-6), a key cell-signaling molecule in biology and medicine, by integrating an OECT with an immuno-affinity regenerated cellulose membrane. The objective of the membrane is to increase the local concentration of IL-6 at the sensing electrode and, thereby, enhance the device response for concentrations falling within the physiological concentration range of cytokines. The OECT gate electrode is functionalized with an oligo(ethylene glycol)-terminated self-assembled alkanethiolate monolayer (SAM) for both the immobilization of anti IL-6 antibodies and the inhibition of non-specific biomolecule binding.

PEDOT:PSS Interfaces Support the Development of Neuronal Synaptic Networks with Reduced Neuroglia Response In vitro.

Unlabelled: The design of electrodes based on conductive polymers in brain-machine interface technology offers the opportunity to exploit variably manufactured materials to reduce gliosis, indeed the most common brain response to chronically implanted neural electrodes. In fact, the use of conductive polymers, finely tailored in their physical-chemical properties, might result in electrodes with improved adaptability to the brain tissue and increased charge-transfer efficiency. Here we interfaced poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (

Pedot: PSS) doped with different amounts of ethylene glycol (EG) with rat hippocampal primary cultures grown for 3 weeks on these synthetic substrates.

A hybrid living/organic electrochemical transistor based on the cell endowed with both sensing and memristive properties.

A hybrid bio-organic electrochemical transistor was developed by interfacing an organic semiconductor, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with poly(styrene sulfonate), with the cell. The system shows unprecedented performances since it could be operated both as a transistor, in a three-terminal configuration, and as a memristive device in a two terminal configuration mode. This is quite a remarkable achievement since, in the transistor mode, it can be used as a very sensitive bio-sensor directly monitoring biochemical processes occurring in the cell, while, as a memristive device, it represents one of the very first examples of a bio-hybrid system demonstrating such a property.

Drug-induced cellular death dynamics monitored by a highly sensitive organic electrochemical system.

We propose and demonstrate a sensitive diagnostic device based on an Organic Electrochemical Transistor (OECT) for direct in-vitro monitoring cell death. The system efficiently monitors cell death dynamics, being able to detect signals related to specific death mechanisms, namely necrosis or early/late apoptosis, demonstrating a reproducible correlation between the OECT electrical response and the trends of standard cell death assays. The innovative design of the Twell-OECT system has been modeled to better correlate electrical signals with cell death dynamics.

Titanyl phthalocyanine ambipolar thin film transistors making use of carbon nanotube electrodes.

The capability of efficiently injecting charge carriers into organic films and finely tuning their morphology and structure is crucial to improve the performance of organic thin film transistors (OTFTs). In this work, we investigate OTFTs employing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as the source-drain electrodes and, as the organic semiconductor, thin films of titanyl phthalocyanine (TiOPc) grown by supersonic molecular beam deposition (SuMBD). While CNT electrodes have shown an unprecedented ability to improve charge injection in OTFTs, SuMBD is an effective technique to tune film morphology and structure.

Human stress monitoring through an organic cotton-fiber biosensor.

Selective detection of bioanalytes in physiological fluids, such as blood, sweat or saliva, by means of low-cost and non-invasive devices, is of crucial importance to improve diagnosis and prevention in healthcare. To be really useful in everyday life a sensing system needs to be handy, non-invasive, easy to read and possibly wearable. Only a sensor that satisfies these requirements could be eligible for applications in healthcare and physiological condition monitoring.

Microtexturing of the conductive PEDOT:PSS polymer for superhydrophobic organic electrochemical transistors.

Superhydrophobic surfaces are bioinspired, nanotechnology artifacts, which feature a reduced friction coefficient, whereby they can be used for a number of very practical applications including, on the medical side, the manipulation of biological solutions. In this work, we integrated superhydrophobic patterns with the conducting polymer PEDOT:PSS, one of the most used polymers in organic electronics because highly sensitive to ionized species in solution. In doing so, we combined geometry and materials science to obtain an advanced device where, on account of the superhydrophobicity of the system, the solutions of interest can be manipulated and, on account of the conductive PEDOT:PSS polymer, the charged molecules dispersed inside can be quantitatively measured.

Irreversible evolution of eumelanin redox states detected by an organic electrochemical transistor: en route to bioelectronics and biosensing.

Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) are currently emerging as powerful tools for biosensing, bioelectronics and nanomedical applications owing to their ability to operate under liquid phase conditions optimally integrating electronic and biological systems. Herein we disclose the unique potential of OECTs for detecting and investigating the electrical properties of insoluble eumelanin biopolymers. Gate current measurements on fine aqueous suspensions of a synthetic eumelanin sample from 5,6-dihydroxyindole (DHI) revealed a well detectable hysteretic response similar to that of the pure monomer in solution, with the formal concentration of the polymer as low as 10 M.

Liposome sensing and monitoring by organic electrochemical transistors integrated in microfluidics.

Background: Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs), which are becoming more and more promising devices for applications in bioelectronics and nanomedicine, are proposed here as ideally suitable for sensing and real time monitoring of liposome-based structures. This is quite relevant since, currently, the techniques used to investigate liposomal structures, their stability in different environments as well as drug loading and delivery mechanisms, operate basically off-line and/or with pre-prepared sampling.

Methods: OECTs, based on the PEDOT:PSS conductive polymer, have been employed as sensors of liposome-based nanoparticles in electrolyte solutions to assess sensitivity and monitoring capabilities based on ion-to-electron amplified transduction.