Advanced Functional Materials
Advanced Functional Materials
5 years ago

Living Bioelectronics: Strategies for Developing an Effective Long-Term Implant with Functional Neural Connections

Living Bioelectronics: Strategies for Developing an Effective Long-Term Implant with Functional Neural Connections
Ulises A. Aregueta-Robles, Josef A. Goding, Aaron D. Gilmour, Rylie A. Green, Erol A. Hasan
Existing bionic implants use metal electrodes, which have low charge transfer capacity and poor tissue integration. This limits their use in next-generation, high resolution devices. Coating and other modification techniques have been explored to improve the performance of metal electrodes. While this has enabled increased charge transfer properties and integration of biologically responsive components, stable long term performance remains a significant challenge. This progress report provides a background on electrode modification techniques, exploring state-of-the art approaches to improving implantable electrodes. The new frontier of cell-based electronics, is introduced detailing approaches that use tissue engineering principles applied to bionic devices. These living bioelectronic technologies aim to enable devices to grow into target tissues, creating direct neural connections. Ideally, this approach will create a paradigm shift in biomedical electrode design. Rather than relying on unwieldy metal electrodes and direct current injection, living bioelectronics will use cells embedded within devices to provide communication through synaptic connections. This report details the challenge of designing electrodes that can bridge the technology gap between conventional metal electrode interfaces and new living electrodes through considering electrical, chemical, physical and biological characteristics. Bionic implants using metal electrodes have low charge transfer capacity and poor tissue integration. This progress report provides a background on electrode modification techniques, exploring state-of-the art approaches to improving implantable electrodes. The new frontier of cell-based electronics is introduced, detailing approaches that use tissue engineering principles applied to bionic devices. Living bioelectronics will ultimately create a paradigm shift in biomedical electrode design.

Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi

DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201702969

You might also like
Discover & Discuss Important Research

Keeping up-to-date with research can feel impossible, with papers being published faster than you'll ever be able to read them. That's where Researcher comes in: we're simplifying discovery and making important discussions happen. With over 19,000 sources, including peer-reviewed journals, preprints, blogs, universities, podcasts and Live events across 10 research areas, you'll never miss what's important to you. It's like social media, but better. Oh, and we should mention - it's free.

  • Download from Google Play
  • Download from App Store
  • Download from AppInChina

Researcher displays publicly available abstracts and doesn’t host any full article content. If the content is open access, we will direct clicks from the abstracts to the publisher website and display the PDF copy on our platform. Clicks to view the full text will be directed to the publisher website, where only users with subscriptions or access through their institution are able to view the full article.