Abstract
Polyelectrolyte hydrogel ionic diodes (PHIDs) have recently emerged as a unique set of iontronic devices. Such diodes are built on microfluidic chips that feature polyelectrolyte hydrogel junctions and rectify ionic currents owing to the heterogeneous distribution and transport of ions across the junctions. In this paper, we provide the first account of a study on the ion transport behavior of PHIDs through an experimental investigation and numerical simulation. The effects of bulk ionic strength and hydrogel pore confinement are experimentally investigated. The ionic current rectification (ICR) exhibits saturation in a micromolar regime and responds to hydrogel pore size, which is subsequently verified in a simulation. Furthermore, we experimentally show that the rectification is sensitive to the dose of immobilized DNA with an exhibited sensitivity of 1 ng/μL. We anticipate our findings would be beneficial to the design of PHID-based biosensors for electrical detection of charged biomolecules.
Highlights
In recent years, hydrogel-based materials have been broadly used in tissue engineering [1], translational medicine [2], and biosensing [3,4] for their biocompatibility, plasticity, and semi-permeability [5]
Among various classes of hydrogels, polyelectrolyte hydrogel has gained particular interest in the field of biomedical iontronic devices due to its exhibited ion conductivity and selectivity [6]. With such a unique type of material, scientists have developed an array of functional iontronic devices such as ionic diodes [7,8] and transistors [9], and they have demonstrated their potential in ion amplification [10] and all-ionic circuits [11]
Polyelectrolyte hydrogel ionic diodes are structurally analogous to semiconductor diodes [12]
Summary
Hydrogel-based materials have been broadly used in tissue engineering [1], translational medicine [2], and biosensing [3,4] for their biocompatibility, plasticity, and semi-permeability [5]. Kubeil et al performed numerical simulations based on Poisson–Nernst–Planck (PNP) equations to investigate the geometric effect on ICR in conical nanopores, and found that ICR could be increased by decreasing the half-cone angle [14] With these theoretical efforts, novel nanofluidic diodes have been experimentally developed to achieve various chemical and biomedical applications [16]. Hydrogels nanoporous and tions to investigate the geometric effect on ICR in conical nanopores, and found t could be increased by decreasing the half-cone angle [14] With these theoretical novel nanofluidic diodes have been experimentally developed to achieve various cal and biomedical applications [16]. Based on experimental and numerical means, we investigate whether a PHID device can be applied to electrical detection of charged biomolecules
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
