4.5 Carbon-Based Nanomaterials

Carbon-based materials, such as graphene and its micro and nanostructures, are suitable

systems for bioelectronics, owing to their stability, biocompatibility, high mechanical

flexibility (especially for thin films), high tunability of their optoelectronics features via

chemical doping, and a variety of fabrication methods [20]. In this section, we will be

reviewing the use of graphene and relative mico/nanostructures in bioelectronics.

4.5.1 Graphene

Graphene is perhaps one of the most studied materials in the last couple of decades. It

displays an extraordinary charge carrier mobility (close to 10,000 cm²/V.s) and a rela­

tively high surface-to-volume ratio. These features make graphene an ideal material for

FIGURE 4.6

(a) Snapshots from molecular dynamics simulations of the azobenzene molecules (Ziapin 2) in the trans (left)

and cis (right) conformations, respectively. Dimerization causes in the dark causes a thinning of the bilayer,

while illumination leads to the trans → cis photoreaction, the disruption of dimers, and restoration of the initial

membrane thickness. (b) Modulation of the membrane capacitance due to the insertion of the amphiphilic

azobenzene and its photoreaction. (c) Representative traces showing light-induced neuronal firing. The data on

cells treated either with DMSO (vehicle solvent) or with Ziapin 2 reported in (b) and (c) are highlighted by

asterisks and full circles, respectively. Adapted with permission [ 49]. Copyright (2020) Springer Nature.

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