A Fully Edible Transistor Based on a Toothpaste Pigment.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Organic Electronics
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Edible electronics offer promising healthcare applications for ingestible sensors without medical supervision.
• Technological maturity is hindered by the lack of stable and high-performing edible semiconductors.
• Daily ingested materials, like toothpaste pigments, present an untapped resource for edible electronics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore Copper(II) Phthalocyanine (CuPc), a toothpaste pigment, as a viable edible semiconductor.
• To demonstrate the feasibility of creating functional edible electronic components using CuPc.
• To assess the potential for large-scale production of edible circuits from daily ingested quantities.

Main Methods:

• Estimated daily ingestion quantity of CuPc from toothpaste based on inadvertent ingestion data.
• Fabricated fully edible electrolyte-gated transistors utilizing CuPc as the semiconductor material.
• Evaluated transistor performance, including operating voltage, reproducibility, and long-term stability.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated the first fully edible electrolyte-gated transistors operating at low voltage (<1 V).
• Achieved good reproducibility and stable transistor performance for over a year.
• Calculated that daily ingested CuPc from toothpaste can yield over 10^4 edible transistors.

Conclusions:

• Copper(II) Phthalocyanine (CuPc) is a promising material for developing high-performance edible semiconductors.
• The study paves the way for the realization of edible circuits, a key component in future ingestible electronic systems.
• This research highlights the potential of utilizing everyday ingested substances for advanced electronic applications.