Engineering Multi‐Scale Organization for Biotic and Organic Abiotic Electroactive Systems

Abstract

Multi-scale organization of molecular and living components is one of the most critical parameters that regulate charge transport in electroactive systems-whether abiotic, biotic, or hybrid interfaces. In this article, an overview of the current state-of-the-art for controlling molecular order, nanoscale assembly, microstructure domains, and macroscale architectures of electroactive organic interfaces used for biomedical applications is provided. Discussed herein are the leading strategies and challenges to date for engineering the multi-scale organization of electroactive organic materials, including biomolecule-based materials, synthetic conjugated molecules, polymers, and their biohybrid analogs. Importantly, this review provides a unique discussion on how the dependence of conduction phenomena on structural organization is observed for electroactive organic materials, as well as for their living counterparts in electrogenic tissues and biotic-abiotic interfaces. Expansion of fabrication capabilities that enable higher resolution and throughput for the engineering of ordered, patterned, and architecture electroactive systems will significantly impact the future of bioelectronic technologies for medical devices, bioinspired harvesting platforms, and in vitro models of electroactive tissues. In summary, this article presents how ordering at multiple scales is important for modulating transport in both the electroactive organic, abiotic, and living components of bioelectronic systems.

Thermodynamic Analysis of Silk Fibroin–Graphite Hybrid Materials and Their Morphology

“…Abiotic components can enhance mechanical and electronic properties, while biotic components help the material remain biodegradable and biocompatible. 7,8 A promising biotic candidate is protein silk fibroin (SF), one of two components in silk originating from the domestic silk moth. SF is composed of two recurrent domains: crystalline regions with tightly packed β-sheets made up of the repeat sequence (GAGAGS), and amorphous linker regions.…”

“…Secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structures all work to bring about both function and dynamic response to environmental stimuli. , However, this hierarchical nature makes the synthetic reproduction of biotic materials difficult, as structural packing and arrangement is often an intricate and delicate process. , An alternative to fully biotic materials are hybrid materials, which combine biotics or biotic analogues with synthetic materials. Abiotic components can enhance mechanical and electronic properties, while biotic components help the material remain biodegradable and biocompatible. , …”

Selective Induction of Molecular Assembly to Tissue‐Level Anisotropy on Peptide‐Based Optoelectronic Cardiac Biointerfaces

“…[ 40–42 ] Therefore, seeking methods that allow for surface patterning of these molecularly ordered optoelectronic peptides in bioelectronic devices will truly bring out the potential of such supramolecular materials toward cardiac tissue engineering applications. [ 16,43–45 ]…”

Lattice-guided assembly of optoelectronically active π-conjugated peptides on 1D van der Waals single crystals

“…Among the hybrid materials that arise from templating, the creation of organic-inorganic heterointerfaces has enabled the assembly of organic structures that feature considerably altered optoelectronic properties due to interfacial exciton transfer and carrier transport with the underlying inorganic substrate (14,(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23). In recent examples, 2D inorganic vdW surfaces that bear atomically precise and flat surfaces have been shown to template the assembly of heterointerfaced organic molecules with endowed nonnative ordering motifs, such as high-symmetry planar hexagonal packing (22,23).…”