An organic electronic ion pump to regulate intracellular signaling at high spatiotemporal resolution

Current technologies for cell stimulation suffer from a variety of drawbacks. Indeed, precise, localized, and minimally disruptive machine-to-cell interfacing is difficult to achieve. Here we present the organic electronic ion pump (OEIP), a polymer-based delivery system exhibiting high spatial, temporal, and dosage precision. Based on electrophoretic transport of positively charged species, the OEIP can deliver - with high precision - an array of biologically relevant substances without fluid flow, thus eliminating convective disturbance of the target system´s environment. We discuss our results to date, including oscillatory delivery profiles and stimulation of neuronal cells in vitro, as well as our ongoing work.