Microfluidic-organic thin film transistor coupled platform for simple solution exposure†

Abstract

Efforts to combine organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) within microfluidic networks to create sensitive, versatile, and low-cost sensors for rapid chemical analysis have been limited by the need for complex equipment and by the sensitivity of OTFTs to common processing techniques used in traditional microfluidic fabrication. We designed and validated a robust, easy to use, and simple to manufacture prototype microfluidic–OTFT pressure coupled system. Our design enables multiple OTFT architectures to be combined with microfluidic analyte delivery, eliminates common processing steps that can alter OTFT performance, and only requires easily-accessible equipment. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate the exposure of aluminium chloride phthalocyanine (AlClPc) based OTFTs to different solutions of sodium fluoride (NaF). This work could accelerate the design of more versatile, rapid, and reliable OTFT based liquid chemical sensors.