Poly(3,4-alkylenedioxypyrrole)s as highly stable aqueous-compatible conducting polymers,vith biomedical implications

Polypyrrole (PPy) may be set to revolutionize biological applications such as tissue engineering and biosensors due to its high electroactivity/conduc tivity and the water compatibility of its films. However, inherent weakness es in PPy-based materials arise from defect sites along the PPy polymer bac kbone, and its instability to reduction by biologically relevant reducing a gents such as dithiothreitol (DTT) and glutathione. Here is presented a fam ily of electron-rich poly(3,4-alkylenedioxypyrrole)s that address these str uctural weaknesses and are stable in the conducting, oxidized form, renderi ng them immune to strong biological reducing agents.