Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
Nanoscale. 2017 Jun 1;9(21):6953-6958. doi: 10.1039/c6nr08944e.
Bio-interface transistors, which manipulate the transportation of ions (i.e. protons), play an important role in bridging physical devices with biological functionalities, because electrical signals are carried by ions/protons in biological systems. All available ionic transistors use electrostatic gates to tune the ionic carrier density, which requires complicated interconnect wires. In contrast, an optical gate, which offers the advantages of remote control as well as multiple light wavelength selections, has never been explored for ionic devices. Here, we demonstrate a light-gated protonic transistor fabricated from an Au nanoparticle and DNA (AuNP-DNA) hybrid membrane. The device can be turned on and off completely by using light, with a high on/off current ratio of up to 2 orders of magnitude. Moreover, the device only responds to specific light wavelengths due to the plasmonic effect from the AuNPs, which enables the capability of wavelength selectivity. Our results open up new avenues for exploring remotely controlled ionic circuits, in vivo protonic switches, and other biomedical applications.
生物界面晶体管通过操控离子（如质子）的传输，在连接物理器件与生物功能方面发挥着重要作用，因为在生物系统中，电信号是由离子/质子携带的。所有现有的离子晶体管都使用静电门来调节离子载体密度，这需要复杂的互连电线。相比之下，光学门具有远程控制和多波长选择的优势，但其从未被用于离子器件。在这里，我们展示了一种由金纳米颗粒和 DNA（AuNP-DNA）杂化膜制成的光控质子晶体管。该器件可以完全通过光打开和关闭，具有高达 2 个数量级的高导通/关断电流比。此外，由于 AuNPs 的等离子体效应，该器件仅对特定的光波长作出响应，从而实现了波长选择性。我们的研究结果为探索远程控制的离子电路、活体质子开关和其他生物医学应用开辟了新途径。
