Electrosorption Mechanism of Zwitterionic Amino Acid Neurotransmitters in Iontronic Devices

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

Neurotransmitters carrying specific chemical information play a key role in the nervous system, which inspires ion-based devices to mimic biological functions of nervous system, including sensing, transduction, and computing. In this work, the interaction mechanism of zwitterionic amino acids, glycine (Gly), and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) (two common inhibitory neurotransmitters) are analyzed with porous carbon electrodes. The charge balance of these zwitterionic neurotransmitters relies on zwitterion protonation in the vicinity of the negative electrodes (produced cations adsorbed by the negative electrode) and deprotonation near the positive electrode (produced anions to balance the positive charges) as demonstrated based on the theoretical dissociation analyses and local pH measurements. Additionally, electrosorption-induced concentration changes of Gly and GABA in aqueous solutions and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) solutions are realized by electrosorption via nanoporous carbon electrodes. Based on this mechanistic understanding, the ionologic functions in printed ionic electrolyte double-layer transistors are demonstrated. These neurotransmitter-based iontronic devices hold potential for further organism-machine interfacing and neuromorphic computing applications.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number2400439
JournalAdvanced materials technologies
Early online date22 Jul 2024
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 22 Jul 2024
Peer-reviewedYes

Keywords

Keywords

  • GABA, glycine, ionic transistors, iontronic devices, nanoporous carbons