In Portugal and Italy, researchers from the University of Lisbon and the University of Modena have developed a dissolvable light-emitting diode from chitosan, a biopolymer found in crustacean shells.
OLEDs are widely used in phototherapy to measure or stimulate cell responses. While some have already been developed for use inside the body, this most recent work is the first that is completely dissolvable. In addition to the chitosan substrate, the OLED device included AlQ3(tris(8-hydroxyquinolinato)aluminum) as the emitting material and magnesium (Mg) and molybdenum oxide (MoO3) electrodes.
The findings were detailed in a recent issue of Applied Materials & Interfaces