Ultrasensitive label-free optical recording of bioelectric potentials using dioxythiophene-based electrochromic polymers
Abstract Dioxythiophene-based polymers are electrochromic, effectively converting electric potentials into optical signals through voltage-dependent changes in absorption. The electrochromic property of these π-conjugated polymers can be harnessed to transform miniscule bioelectric signals, such as...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61708-y |
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| author | Yuecheng Zhou Erica Liu Anna M. Österholm Austin L. Jones Pengwei Sun Yang Yang Ching-Ting Tsai Tomasz Zaluska Wei Zhang Holger Müller John R. Reynolds Bianxiao Cui |
| author_facet | Yuecheng Zhou Erica Liu Anna M. Österholm Austin L. Jones Pengwei Sun Yang Yang Ching-Ting Tsai Tomasz Zaluska Wei Zhang Holger Müller John R. Reynolds Bianxiao Cui |
| author_sort | Yuecheng Zhou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Dioxythiophene-based polymers are electrochromic, effectively converting electric potentials into optical signals through voltage-dependent changes in absorption. The electrochromic property of these π-conjugated polymers can be harnessed to transform miniscule bioelectric signals, such as neuronal action potentials, into optical readouts. To enhance sensitivity, we investigated the impact of backbone and side-chain chemistry of dioxythiophene-based polymers. Among them, P(OE3)-E, a copolymer of oligoether-functionalized 3,4-propylenedioxythiophene with unsubstituted 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene, exhibits the highest electrochromic sensitivity for optical bioelectric potential detection. A crucial factor in optimizing detection sensitivity is aligning the electric potential that triggers the sharpest optical transition in electrochromic polymers with the redox potential of the biological environment. Using P(OE3)-E thin films, we reliably detected field potentials from isolated rat hearts, extracellular action potentials of stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes, and spontaneous action potentials of dissociated rat hippocampal neurons. Our results achieved a detection sensitivity of ~3.3 µV with sub-millisecond temporal resolution, matching that of traditional electrode-based recordings while eliminating the constraints of electrode patterning or placement. This work highlights the significant potential of π-conjugated polymers for advancing bioelectric detection technologies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c5da5475ec0e489eba38dc172b8dd3d2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-c5da5475ec0e489eba38dc172b8dd3d22025-08-20T04:02:55ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-07-0116111310.1038/s41467-025-61708-yUltrasensitive label-free optical recording of bioelectric potentials using dioxythiophene-based electrochromic polymersYuecheng Zhou0Erica Liu1Anna M. Österholm2Austin L. Jones3Pengwei Sun4Yang Yang5Ching-Ting Tsai6Tomasz Zaluska7Wei Zhang8Holger Müller9John R. Reynolds10Bianxiao Cui11Department of Chemistry, Stanford UniversityDepartment of Chemistry, Stanford UniversitySchool of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of TechnologySchool of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of TechnologyWu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford UniversityDepartment of Chemistry, Stanford UniversityDepartment of Chemistry, Stanford UniversityWu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford UniversityDepartment of Chemistry, Stanford UniversityDepartment of Physics, University of CaliforniaSchool of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of TechnologyDepartment of Chemistry, Stanford UniversityAbstract Dioxythiophene-based polymers are electrochromic, effectively converting electric potentials into optical signals through voltage-dependent changes in absorption. The electrochromic property of these π-conjugated polymers can be harnessed to transform miniscule bioelectric signals, such as neuronal action potentials, into optical readouts. To enhance sensitivity, we investigated the impact of backbone and side-chain chemistry of dioxythiophene-based polymers. Among them, P(OE3)-E, a copolymer of oligoether-functionalized 3,4-propylenedioxythiophene with unsubstituted 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene, exhibits the highest electrochromic sensitivity for optical bioelectric potential detection. A crucial factor in optimizing detection sensitivity is aligning the electric potential that triggers the sharpest optical transition in electrochromic polymers with the redox potential of the biological environment. Using P(OE3)-E thin films, we reliably detected field potentials from isolated rat hearts, extracellular action potentials of stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes, and spontaneous action potentials of dissociated rat hippocampal neurons. Our results achieved a detection sensitivity of ~3.3 µV with sub-millisecond temporal resolution, matching that of traditional electrode-based recordings while eliminating the constraints of electrode patterning or placement. This work highlights the significant potential of π-conjugated polymers for advancing bioelectric detection technologies.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61708-y |
| spellingShingle | Yuecheng Zhou Erica Liu Anna M. Österholm Austin L. Jones Pengwei Sun Yang Yang Ching-Ting Tsai Tomasz Zaluska Wei Zhang Holger Müller John R. Reynolds Bianxiao Cui Ultrasensitive label-free optical recording of bioelectric potentials using dioxythiophene-based electrochromic polymers Nature Communications |
| title | Ultrasensitive label-free optical recording of bioelectric potentials using dioxythiophene-based electrochromic polymers |
| title_full | Ultrasensitive label-free optical recording of bioelectric potentials using dioxythiophene-based electrochromic polymers |
| title_fullStr | Ultrasensitive label-free optical recording of bioelectric potentials using dioxythiophene-based electrochromic polymers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ultrasensitive label-free optical recording of bioelectric potentials using dioxythiophene-based electrochromic polymers |
| title_short | Ultrasensitive label-free optical recording of bioelectric potentials using dioxythiophene-based electrochromic polymers |
| title_sort | ultrasensitive label free optical recording of bioelectric potentials using dioxythiophene based electrochromic polymers |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61708-y |
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