Dr. Sahika Inal (from KAUST) Speaks at ORaCEL Seminar on January 22, 2019
Engineering Conjugated Polymers for Biosensors
[ezcol_1half]Dr. Sahika Inal
Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
E-mail: sahika.inal@kaust.edu.sa
Group Website
Twitter: @InalSahika
[/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end]
Date: Tuesday January 22, 2019
Venue: Toxicology Auditorium 2104
Time: 11:00 AM–12 PM.[/ezcol_1half_end]
Abstract
Conducting both ionic and electronic charge carriers, conjugated polymers are impacting on a large variety of biology-related applications as the electronic material interfacing with living systems. A device type that has predominantly utilized these polymers as its active component is the organic electrochemical transistor (OECT) – an electrolyte gated transistor used for ionic-to-electronic signal transduction. In this talk, I will show a comprehensive study on the thin film properties of a series of conjugated polymers and evaluate how systematic chemical modifications impact on the electrochemical activity of these materials, thereof the device operation. I will demonstrate the importance of characterizing the properties of these films in-situ for drawing conclusions related to their performance. I will present two cases where modifications in the chemistry of materials are the key for developing OECTs that can detect metabolites in bodily fluids or pick up signals from lipid bilayers. Highlighting the materials properties that enable operation in electrolytes and improve communication with biological systems, this work provides an understanding of materials-device performance relations for the development of next generation organic bioelectronic devices.
Biography: Sahika Inal is an Assistant Professor of Bioscience with affiliations in Electrical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Prior to joining KAUST, she was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Bioelectronics at the Center of Microelectronics of Provence of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Saint-Étienne (Gardanne, France). She received her B.Sc. degree in Textile Engineering from Istanbul Technical University (2007, Istanbul, Turkey), her M.Sc. in Polymer Science and Ph.D. in Experimental Physics from the University of Potsdam (2013, Potsdam, Germany). Her M.Sc. work dealt with the optical processes in organic solar cells comprising small molecule acceptors. During her doctoral studies, she developed phase transition polymer/conjugated polyelectrolyte based optical sensors for autonomous detection of pathogens. Her expertise is in polymer science and bioelectronic devices, particularly in photophysics of conjugated polymers, characterization of polymer thin films and the design of biosensors and actuators. She currently investigates ion/electron conduction in organic electronic materials and designs bioelectronic devices that can record/stimulate biological signals. She leads the Organic Bioelectronics group at KAUST.
