A BIO-PHOTOELECTROLYTIC ORGANIC SEMICONDUCTOR PLATFORM FOR MEASUREMENT AND CONTROL OF PROLIFERATION AND BEHAVIOUR OF LIVING CELLS USING LIGHT PULSES | PRESS RELEASE

20 February 2023

A Bio-photoelectrolytic Organic Semiconductor Platform For Measurement And Control Of Proliferation And Behaviour Of Living Cells Using Light Pulses

Organic semiconductors have been shown to be promising for interfacing with biological systems because they are biocompatible, printable and their optical properties can be tailored. A multidisciplinary international team from seven research institutes have designed a bio-photoelectrolytic platform based on semiconducting polymer thin films, onto which cells were cultured immersing both in an aqueous biological medium. The team demonstrated it is possible to inhibit cell proliferation by 50% in a cancer cell line by subjecting the platform to a series of light pulses over time. Light stimulation was found to increase the concentration of calcium ions inside the cells by three times. The platform also enabled to measure bio-electrical signals. The bio–photoelectrolytic platform and the effective use of light stimulation may open new avenues for in vitro light control/manipulation of cell behaviour, for the development of future novel non-invasive tools for application in bio-sensing, regenerative medicine and cell-based therapy, and for cancer progression control and therapy.

Results are published in Advanced NanoBiomed Research, 2200127 (2023)
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/anbr.202200127

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CONFERENCE ON NEW GENERATION PHOTOVOLTAICS FOR SPACE (PVSPACE)

You are invited to participate at the Online Conference on New Generation Photovoltaics for Space (PVSPACE), from 21th to 22th of June 2022.

Compared with the terrestrial environment, the cosmic space environment is very harsh. Space is characterized by ultra-high vacuum, extreme temperatures and also exposure to several high-energy charged particles and rays. In line with the fast-growing space economy, new generation of photovoltaic systems e.g., perovskite solar cells and multi-junction thin film PVs have been shown a great potential for compete with conventional PV systems in the space applications due to high efficiency in ultra-low-cost devices, low energy payback time, solution-process and roll-to-roll fabrication, high specific power and intrinsic stability against high energy particles and rays.

The scope of the conference is to gather international experts in new generation photovoltaics such as perovskite, organic PV or tandem between new generation and conventional PV, to have a fresh update on the development in the field and to define new opportunities of new generation PV in space applications. From space applications we consider not only those which are available nowadays such as satellite powering but also new space developments such as extraterrestrial bases, deployable flexible PV arrays, inflatable solar cells etc. The conference would also focus on space relevant tests of new PV technologies as well as the first experimental demonstration on the space environment.

Conference Organizer: Dr. Narges Yaghoobi Nia, Prof. Aldo Di Carlo, Prof. Luigi Schirone, Dr. Mahmoud Zendehdel

SIMPLE AND EFFECTIVE DEPOSITION METHOD FOR SOLAR CELL PEROVSKITE FILMS USING A SHEET OF PAPER | PRESS RELEASE

22 January 2022

Simple and effective deposition method for solar cell perovskite films

using a sheet of paper

Perovskite semiconductor solar cells are a very exciting photovoltaic technology possessing similar efficiencies to silicon but cast or printed in thin films via liquid inks. A new method that uses a simple sheet of paper to deposit the perovskite films that does without any expensive equipment at all has been developed by a team from Tor Vergata University and University of Zanjan. The trick to achieve high performance with this remarkably cheap method is to soak the paper applicator in anti-solvent which almost doubles efficiencies compared to when using it dry, reaching 11% on flexible plastic substrates. Paper, compared to other soft applicators, possesses the right porosity and smoothness for deposition of high quality perovskite films.

Video of the method can be watched on CHOSE Youtube channel:
https://youtu.be/4qrKZtuc1Ho

Results are published in iScience 25, 103712 (2022)
https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(21)01682-5

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PEROVSKITE SOLAR MODULE WITH 17% EFFICIENCY

26/03/2021

A research team led by CHOSE has fabricated a perovskite solar module with a total active area of 42.8 cm2 and aperture area of 50 cm2. The panel was built with 20%-efficient perovskite cells connected in 14 series and was able to retain 90% of the initial efficiency after 800 h of thermal stress at 85° C.(https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2020.105685)

Read the article by Emiliano Bellini on PV Magazine: 

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2021/03/26/perovskite-solar-module-with-17-efficiency/