TRENDS & TECHNOLOGY

Abstract

A new integrated chemical circuit could lead to an array of new applications in life sciences, as it could be used in vivo to regulate the signal paths of cells in the human body. Developed by Klas Tybrandt, doctoral student researching organic electronics at Linköping University (Sweden), the circuits transmit ions and molecules. The chip can work with common signaling substances such as acetylcholine. Potential applications include sending signals to muscle synapses with a malfunctioning signaling system.  Tybrandt and Berggren began to develop ion transistors three years ago that can control and transport ions and charged biomolecules. That research was published in 2010 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in an article titled “Ion bipolar junction transistors.”