Probe station (equipped with source-measure units such as a Keithley or a National Instruments System) enables electrical characterization of materials and devices. Relying on reduced noise and high stability that the station provides, we measure small changes in conducting polymer conductance triggered by biological events such as analyte binding, a change in pH or neural activity.
The instrument is a used for a wide range of applications, including electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry and bipotentiostat measurements, and electropolymerization of conducting polymers.
The QCM-D is a powerful instrument that can quantify surface interactions/reactions in real time, including adsorption and desorption, binding, degradation, swelling and collapse, as well as conformation changes of soft materials.
The spectrometer measures the visible spectrum of samples up to 1200 nm, as well as fluorescence signals in the visible range. The portable set-up with fiber optics is mostly used for spectroelectrochemistry of films and investigating electronic transitions in real time.
The inkjet printer is used to print various materials, including conducting polymers such as PEDOT:PSS, on a variety of substrates (e.g., textile, glass, parylene).
Electrospinner/sprayer fabricates polymeric nanofibers, using electrostatic force that transforms charged threads of polymer solutions into fibers.
Freeze-drying (lyophilization) is a technique that can create porosity in solids. The instrument first freezes polymeric solutions and then, under low pressure and high vacuum, sublimes the frozen solvent.