Electrodeposition of Piezoelectric Polymer Ultrasonic Transceivers for On-Chip Antibiotic Biosensors

Abstract

In this study, on-chip piezoelectric polymer ultrasonic transceivers based on electrodeposition of polyvinylidene fluoride–trifluoroethylene (PVDF–TrFE) copolymer were developed and their use for ultrasensitive detection of antibiotic drugs was demonstrated. The transceivers, including receivers and transmitters, were electrodeposited on prepatterned gold electrodes in a single step at room temperature. PVDF–TrFE layers were deposited and poled simultaneously because of the polarization of dipoles in the electric field. A couple of PVDF–TrFE droplets were used to fabricate ultrasonic transducers through a local electrodeposition process, which required only 10 min. The fabricated ultrasonic transducers had a diameter of 680 μm and were integrated with a microfluidic channel. The measured transduction efficiency of the developed transceivers was 29.03%. These developed biosensors have been successfully applied for the detection of doxycycline, which is frequently used in animals, and a detection limit of 50 ppb was achieved. Furthermore, a simple, economical, and easy-to-use technique was developed for fabricating piezoelectric polymer devices on a small scale. The developed on-chip ultrasonic transceivers, which exhibited high ultrasonic performance in a microfluidic channel, have potential for use in ultrasensitive detection of proteins, DNA, and food antibiotics drugs.