Reproducing ion channel–based neural functions with artificial fluidic systems has long been an aspirational goal for both neuromorphic computing and biomedical applications. In this study, neuromorphic functions were successfully accomplished with a polyelectrolyte-confined fluidic memristor (PFM), in which confined polyelectrolyte–ion interactions contributed to hysteretic ion transport, resulting in ion memory effects. Various electric pulse patterns were emulated by PFM with ultralow energy consumption. The fluidic property of PFM enabled the mimicking of chemical-regulated electric pulses. More importantly, chemical-electric signal transduction was implemented with a single PFM. With its structural similarity to ion channels, PFM is versatile and easily interfaces with biological systems, paving a way to building neuromorphic devices with advanced functions by introducing rich chemical designs.

Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) are recently developed high-efficient transducers not only for electrochemical biosensor but also for cell electrophysiological recording due to the separation of gate electrode from the transistor device. The efficient integration of OECTs with electrochemical gate electrode makes the as-prepared sensors with improved performance, such as sensitivity, limit of detection, and selectivity. We herein reviewed the recent progress of OECTs-based biosensors and cell electrophysiology recording, mainly focusing on the principle and chemical design of gate electrode and the channel. First, the configuration, work principle, semiconductor of OECT are briefly introduced. Then different kinds of sensing modes are reviewed, especially for the biosensing and electrophysiological recording. Finally, the challenges and opportunities of this research field are discussed.