Molecular Engineering of Amino Acid Crystals with Enhanced Piezoelectric Performance for Biodegradable Sensors

Amino acid crystals have emerged as promising piezoelectric materials for biodegradable and biocompatible sensors; however, their relatively low piezoelectric coefficients constrain practical applications. Here, we introduce a fluoro-substitution strategy to overcome this limitation and enhance the piezoelectric performance of amino acid crystals. Specifically, we substituted hydrogen atoms on the aromatic rings of L-tryptophan, L-phenylalanine, and N-Cbz-L-phenylalanine with fluorine, resulting in significantly elevated piezoelectric coefficients. Density functional theory calculations further indicate that fluorination strengthens polarization by modifying molecular dipole moments. Consequently, these fluoro-substituted crystals achieve piezoelectric coefficients of up to 50.36 pm/V, surpassing those of other organic piezoelectric materials such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA), and gelatin. When integrated into flexible, biodegradable force sensors, the fluoro-substituted crystals exhibit a broad sensing range, high sensitivity, and stable in vivo operation over extended periods. This work establishes a versatile route for boosting piezoelectricity in biomaterials, thereby broadening their scope in biomedical applications.

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Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Published
2025-01-27
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202500334
Citations
11
Primary Topic
Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
7.42

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article

Molecular Engineering of Amino Acid Crystals with Enhanced Piezoelectric Performance for Biodegradable Sensors

Haoqi Zhu, Landong Li, Yuanqi Cheng, Yi Cao et al.
11 citations
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
7.42
article

Molecular Engineering of Amino Acid Crystals with Enhanced Piezoelectric Performance for Biodegradable Sensors

Haoqi Zhu, Landong Li, Yuanqi Cheng, Yi Cao, Jiapeng Yang, Wenxu Sun, Bin Xue, Xueli Hu, Tianjian Wang, Wei Wang, Ying Li, Yu Zhang, Xiaomei Lü, Liang Dong, Jing Mi
article en
11 citations

Abstract

Amino acid crystals have emerged as promising piezoelectric materials for biodegradable and biocompatible sensors; however, their relatively low piezoelectric coefficients constrain practical applications. Here, we introduce a fluoro-substitution strategy to overcome this limitation and enhance the piezoelectric performance of amino acid crystals. Specifically, we substituted hydrogen atoms on the aromatic rings of L-tryptophan, L-phenylalanine, and N-Cbz-L-phenylalanine with fluorine, resulting in significantly elevated piezoelectric coefficients. Density functional theory calculations further indicate that fluorination strengthens polarization by modifying molecular dipole moments. Consequently, these fluoro-substituted crystals achieve piezoelectric coefficients of up to 50.36 pm/V, surpassing those of other organic piezoelectric materials such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA), and gelatin. When integrated into flexible, biodegradable force sensors, the fluoro-substituted crystals exhibit a broad sensing range, high sensitivity, and stable in vivo operation over extended periods. This work establishes a versatile route for boosting piezoelectricity in biomaterials, thereby broadening their scope in biomedical applications.

Angewandte Chemie International EditionVol. 64(15)
Shandong University (CN), Nantong University (CN), Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology (CN), Hankou University (CN), Nanjing Brain Hospital (CN), Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital (CN), Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures (CN), Nanjing University (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Government of Jiangsu Province, Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 3%
Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
7.42
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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