Abstract
The rapid development of microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip (LoC) technologies have allowed for the efficient separation and manipulation of various biomaterials, including many diagnostically relevant species. Organic electronics have similarly enjoyed a great deal of research, resulting in tiny, highly efficient, wavelength-selective organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and organic photodetectors (OPDs). We consider the blend of these technologies for rapid detection and diagnosis of biological species. In the ideal system, optically active or fluorescently labelled biological species can be probed via light emission from OLEDs, and their subsequent light emission can be detected with OPDs. The relatively low cost and simple fabrication of the organic electronic devices suggests the possibility of disposable test arrays. Further, with full integration, the finalized system can be miniaturized and made simple to use. In this review, we consider the design constraints of OLEDs and OPDs required to achieve fully organic electronic optical bio-detection systems. Current approaches to integrated LoC optical sensing are first discussed. Fully realized OLED- and OPD-specific photoluminescence detection systems from literature are then examined, with a specific focus on their ultimate limits of detection. The review highlights the enormous potential in OLEDs and OPDs for integrated optical sensing, and notes the key avenues of research for cheap and powerful LoC bio-detection systems.
Highlights
Substantial research efforts have been dedicated to the development of lab-on-a-chip (LoC)technologies, which have matured in parallel with the many advances in the field of microfluidics
We examine LoC PL-based detection schemes that use organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) as an excitation source and/or organic photodiodes (OPDs) as a means of detection
O To minimize the number of components required in the LoC system, it may be feasible to employ excitation sources that emit polarized light without the use of linear polarizers. Such excitation sources have recently been demonstrated with polymer emitting nanofibres, showing the potential for electrical excitation [58], as well as demonstrating reasonable integration into microfluidic systems [59]
Summary
Substantial research efforts have been dedicated to the development of lab-on-a-chip (LoC). For LoC applications, other critical and less researched device optimizations must be addressed, such as reducing the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the OLED emission, and identifying new materials systems for OPDs with narrow regions of absorption. Both efforts should serve to reduce the system dark noise by decreasing light leakage from the excitation source to the detector, allowing for better detection limits. With proven manufacturability of both OLEDs and OSCs from companies such as Samsung and Heliatek, as well as a demonstrated potential for extremely long device lifetimes [21,22], it is clear that both OLEDs and OPDs have promise for use in point-of-care LoC systems
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