Printable Heterostructured Bioelectronic Interfaces with Enhanced Electrode Reaction Kinetics by Intermicroparticle Network

Rodtichoti Wannapob, Mikhail Yu Vagin, Yu Liu, Panote Thavarungkul, Proespichaya Kanatharana, Anthony P. F. Turner, Cheung Mak

Printable organic bioelectronics provide a fast and cost-effective approach for the fabrication of novel biodevices, while the general challenge is to achieve optimized reaction kinetic at multiphase boundaries between biomolecules and electrodes. Here, we present an entirely new concept based on a modular approach for the construction of hetero-structured bioelectronic interfaces by using tailored functional "biological microparticles" combined with "transducer microparticles" as modular building blocks. This approach offers high versatility for the design and fabrication of bioelectrodes with variety forms of inter-particle spatial organisations, from layered-structures to more advance bulk hetero-structured architectures. The hetero-structured biocatalytic electrodes delivered twice the reaction rate and a six-fold increase in the effective diffusion kinetics in response to a catalytic model using glucose as the substrate, together with the advantage of shortened diffusion paths for reactants between multiple inter-particle junctions and large active particle surface. The consequent benefits of this improved performance combined with the simple means of mass production are of major significance for the emerging printed electronics industry.