Stability of PEDOT:PSS‐Coated Gold Electrodes in Cell Culture Conditions

Abstract

Poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) is widely used as a coating on microelectrode arrays in order to reduce impedance for both in vitro and in vivo electrophysiology. In many applications, electrode performance of months to years is desired; yet, there are few studies to date that examine the long‐term stability of conducting polymers and their devices. Here, the stability of PEDOT:PSS microelectrodes is examined over a period of four months in cell culture media enriched with fetal bovine serum. The electrochemical impedance remains constant for most electrodes throughout the study, and only small changes in the structure of functional electrodes are observed. The results demonstrate that PEDOT:PSS electrodes show adequate stability for a variety of in vitro electrophysiology applications in toxicology, drug development, tissue engineering, and fundamental studies of electrically active cells and tissues.

Ion Coordination and Chelation in a Glycolated Polymer Semiconductor: Molecular Dynamics and X-ray Fluorescence Study

“…Currently, the most employed material for OECTs is the commercially available PEDOT:PSS, that combines the semiconductor PEDOT with the polyelectrolyte PSS. Despite the good device characteristics (such as high transconductance and switching frequency) and a demonstrated biocompatibility, 14,15 there is significant room for design and systematic improvement of polymer semiconductors for OECTs. 1 In recent years, the strategy of swapping the solubilizing alkyl chains of π-conjugated polythiophenes in favor of ethylene glycol (EG) side chains has proven a promising strategy to achieve a balance between water permeability, ion mobility and hole transport efficiency.…”

Inflight fiber printing toward array and 3D optoelectronic and sensing architectures

“…S7, A to C). In other context, it was shown that PEDOT:PSS electrodes remain stable in cell culture media over a period of several months for in vitro electrophysiology applications (41). When PEDOT:PSS fibers are directly printed onto glass slides, upon cell seeding, the fibers are shown to facilitate spontaneous cell attachment and viable cell culture (viability over 3 days based on U87 cell test; fig.…”

Organic Bioelectronics: Using Highly Conjugated Polymers to Interface with Biomolecules, Cells, and Tissues in the Human Body

“…[ 245 ] This effect may be less of an issue for in vitro applications, which experience a less demanding biological environment. [ 227,370 ] Leaching of dopants may also present a challenge in terms of safety and functionality. The effective charge carrier mobility of conjugated polymer systems also varies dramatically depending on the energetic and structural disorder of the local polymer environment, presenting a challenge to maintaining consistent device performance.…”