Title: Enzyme-assisted in vivo polymerisation of conjugated oligomer based conductors

Abstract

Conjugated polymers conduct both electronic and ionic carriers and thus can stimulate and translate biological signals when used as active materials in bioelectronic devices. Self- and on-demand organization of the active material directly in the in vivo environment can result in the seamless integration of the bioelectronic interface. Along that line, we recently demonstrated spontaneous in vivo polymerization of the conjugated oligomer ETE-S in the vascular tissue of plants and the formation of conducting wires. In this work, we elucidate the mechanism of the in vivo polymerization of the ETE-S trimer and demonstrate that ETE-S polymerizes due to an enzymatic reaction where the enzyme peroxidase is the catalyst and hydrogen peroxide is the oxidant. ETE-S, therefore, represents the first example of a conducting polymer that is enzymatically polymerized in vivo. By reproducing the reaction in vitro, we gain further insight on the polymerization mechanism and show that hydrogen peroxide is the limiting factor. In plants the ETE-S triggers the catalytic cycle responsible for the lignification process, hacks this biochemical pathway and integrates within the plant cell wall, forming conductors along the plant structure.

Authors:

Dufil, Gwennaël  ^[1];

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Dufil, Gwennaël"
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0001-5213-9002"

Parker, Daniela ^[1]; Gerasimov, Jennifer Y. ^[1]; Nguyen, Thuc-Quyen ^[2]; Berggren, Magnus ^[1]; Stavrinidou, Eleni  ^[1]

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Stavrinidou, Eleni"
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-9357-776X"

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+ Show Author Affiliations

1. Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Department of Science and Technology, Linköping University, Norrköping, Sweden
2. Center for Polymers and Organic Solids, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Materials, and Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA

Publication Date:

Fri Mar 13 00:00:00 EDT 2020

Research Org.:

Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

University of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States); USDOE; European Union (EU); Swedish Research Council (SRC)

OSTI Identifier:

1604481

Alternate Identifier(s):

OSTI ID: 1661627; OSTI ID: 1661659

Grant/Contract Number:  

SC0017659; 800926

Resource Type:

Published Article

Journal Name:

Journal of Materials Chemistry. B

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Name: Journal of Materials Chemistry. B Journal Volume: 8 Journal Issue: 19; Journal ID: ISSN 2050-750X

Publisher:

Royal Society of Chemistry

Country of Publication:

United Kingdom

Language:

English

Subject:

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY