Periodic Reporting for period 2 - BORGES (Biosensing with ORGanic ElectronicS)
Reporting period: 2021-01-01 to 2023-06-30
Organic Bioelectronics is a fast-rising interdisciplinary field encompassing organic electronic devices that exhibit mixed electronic and ionic conductivity, thus making them especially suited for operations in electrolyte solutions. It represents a truly unique communication bridge across the technology gap existing between living systems and digital electronics. Organic bioelectronic devices are extremely attractive tools not only for investigating biologically-relevant scenarios but also for providing solutions to a variety of medical problems, from label-free diagnostics at the point of care, to minimally invasive implants for neural recordings and stimulation, to device-assisted loco-regional treatments. In particular, biosensing is one of the most scientifically and industrially promising applications of organic (bio)electronics. Yet, major challenges exist that are still limiting the development, implementation, and industrialization of highly reliable organic bioelectronic sensors. These include the lack of a thorough understanding of the molecular events underlying signal transduction in organic (bio)electronic devices, the need of assessing biosensing architectures in end-use scenarios with real biological samples and, most notably, the fact that scientists developing organic biosensors must possess a thorough multidisciplinary background. It is therefore important to train young professionals that will be able to operate into this highly-multifaceted field, with proficiency in chemistry, materials science and technology, solid-state physics, biochemistry and engineering. Such curricula can hardly be designed within institutional degrees. The objective of BORGES was to train the next generation of R&D innovators in organic bioelectronics, through the combination of network-wide training activities and individual training-through-research, by pursuing individual research projects also carried out through secondments to other nodes of the consortium.
The project started on January 1st, 2019. 15 ESRs were recruited: 6 out of the 15 ESRs (40%) are women.
With respect to network-wide training activities,6 training workshops were held, each including a blend of scientific/technological classes and courses devoted to fostering transversal competencies. Some of these training workshops were held online as virtual events, because of COVID-19 emergency. At the level of individual training, each ESR prepared her/his personal career development plan and discussed it regularly during dedicated meetings with a group of three BORGES principal investigators. Moreover, as a crucial part of the training, each ESR was seconded to at least two different nodes of the consortium, being exposed to new working contexts, in countries different from the one where they were mostly based, complementing the training at their host institution. Moreover, BORGES offered its ESRs a portfolio of five electronic lectures, given by experts and accessible at any time to the ESRs.
With respect to communication to peers and dissemination, the work carried out during the whole project duration led to more than 35 publications. Moreover, the ESRs presented their results in conferences and workshops, for a total of more than 65 contributions either as oral or poster communication, strengthening their ability to discuss the outcomes of their research with members of the scientific community. At the Final International BORGES meeting the ESRs had the opportunity to present the main goals and outcomes of their work in a dedicated pitch session, further consolidating their soft skills.
With respect to communication actions devoted to a general audience, we recorded a BORGES final video, where ESRs were interviewed to share their experience as Marie Curie Ambassadors. This video is available on the YouTube channel of the project and is part of the social media communication of BORGES. The ESRs also trained their ability to disseminate scientific content to non-scientists through creation of a blog, where their experience as fellows is described from their personal perspective, the planning and organisation of a hands-on session for high school students, the production of a tutorial video and the participation to the European Researchers Night in a dedicated BORGES event held virtually.
With respect to the scientific activity, the main results are the following:
- in WP1, novel technologies and theoretical models were set up and tested to investigate the working mechanism of (bio)electronic devices;
- in WP2, novel material strategies, functionalisation procedures and manufacturing procedures were developed, to address the needs of the biosensing community aiming at working with complex, real samples;
- in WP3, electronic biosensors towards different analytes, ranging in size from small molecules to antibodies, were developed;
- in WP4, simulations were carried out and high-throughput and addictive manufacturing approaches were explored for facilitating upscaling of the devices from the laboratory to the industrial stage;
- in WP5, computational strategies and data analysis tools were developed and applied to biosensing relevant questions, to expand the toolbox available to the device end-user.
Besides scientific publications and presentations, the the BORGES results generated 3 patents filed by beneficiaries.
With respect to network-wide training activities,6 training workshops were held, each including a blend of scientific/technological classes and courses devoted to fostering transversal competencies. Some of these training workshops were held online as virtual events, because of COVID-19 emergency. At the level of individual training, each ESR prepared her/his personal career development plan and discussed it regularly during dedicated meetings with a group of three BORGES principal investigators. Moreover, as a crucial part of the training, each ESR was seconded to at least two different nodes of the consortium, being exposed to new working contexts, in countries different from the one where they were mostly based, complementing the training at their host institution. Moreover, BORGES offered its ESRs a portfolio of five electronic lectures, given by experts and accessible at any time to the ESRs.
With respect to communication to peers and dissemination, the work carried out during the whole project duration led to more than 35 publications. Moreover, the ESRs presented their results in conferences and workshops, for a total of more than 65 contributions either as oral or poster communication, strengthening their ability to discuss the outcomes of their research with members of the scientific community. At the Final International BORGES meeting the ESRs had the opportunity to present the main goals and outcomes of their work in a dedicated pitch session, further consolidating their soft skills.
With respect to communication actions devoted to a general audience, we recorded a BORGES final video, where ESRs were interviewed to share their experience as Marie Curie Ambassadors. This video is available on the YouTube channel of the project and is part of the social media communication of BORGES. The ESRs also trained their ability to disseminate scientific content to non-scientists through creation of a blog, where their experience as fellows is described from their personal perspective, the planning and organisation of a hands-on session for high school students, the production of a tutorial video and the participation to the European Researchers Night in a dedicated BORGES event held virtually.
With respect to the scientific activity, the main results are the following:
- in WP1, novel technologies and theoretical models were set up and tested to investigate the working mechanism of (bio)electronic devices;
- in WP2, novel material strategies, functionalisation procedures and manufacturing procedures were developed, to address the needs of the biosensing community aiming at working with complex, real samples;
- in WP3, electronic biosensors towards different analytes, ranging in size from small molecules to antibodies, were developed;
- in WP4, simulations were carried out and high-throughput and addictive manufacturing approaches were explored for facilitating upscaling of the devices from the laboratory to the industrial stage;
- in WP5, computational strategies and data analysis tools were developed and applied to biosensing relevant questions, to expand the toolbox available to the device end-user.
Besides scientific publications and presentations, the the BORGES results generated 3 patents filed by beneficiaries.
The work performed within BORGES project generated scientific results that go beyond the state-of-the-art. The developed theoretical models and characterization technologies developed by the ESRs will facilitate understanding the working principles of organic (bio)electronic devices. This will enable the fine-tuning of device performances and the development of tailor-made materials solutions. Novel protocols for functionalizing such transistors interfaces were developed, therefore providing the scientific community with a broader portfolio of strategies to endow organic electronic transistors with selectivity towards a given analyte. Sensors aimed at monitoring levels of different biomarkers were fabricated and tested. By focusing not only on novel high-throughput fabrication strategies but also on the integration of ad-hoc designed components into devices, BORGES has been facilitating the transition from laboratory-scale to relevant end-user scenarios.
In terms of impact, we believe that BORGES operated at different levels. With respect to ESRs, BORGES contributed to strengthening their skills, therefore enhancing their career perspectives and employability so that they will meet the demand for experts in biosensing and organic bioelectronics. The training both at network-wide and individual level fostered the ESRs' ability to direct R&D activities and select independently applications and working scenarios. With respect to the scientific community, the work carried out will pave new ways for the implementation, characterization and assessment of the sensing capability of organic bioelectronic devices, also expanding their applicability to novel fields. With respect to the citizenship (general audience), the work carried out within BORGES was aimed at facilitating the development of organic electronic biosensors that hold great potential in terms of sensitivity (allowing for earlier diagnosis) and low cost (enabling screening of a large number of samples), contributing to closing the gap towards sensing at the point-of-care, even performed by non-experts.
In terms of impact, we believe that BORGES operated at different levels. With respect to ESRs, BORGES contributed to strengthening their skills, therefore enhancing their career perspectives and employability so that they will meet the demand for experts in biosensing and organic bioelectronics. The training both at network-wide and individual level fostered the ESRs' ability to direct R&D activities and select independently applications and working scenarios. With respect to the scientific community, the work carried out will pave new ways for the implementation, characterization and assessment of the sensing capability of organic bioelectronic devices, also expanding their applicability to novel fields. With respect to the citizenship (general audience), the work carried out within BORGES was aimed at facilitating the development of organic electronic biosensors that hold great potential in terms of sensitivity (allowing for earlier diagnosis) and low cost (enabling screening of a large number of samples), contributing to closing the gap towards sensing at the point-of-care, even performed by non-experts.