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Conductive Polymer Enabled Biostable Liquid Metal Electrodes for Bioelectronic Applications.
Taehwan Lim1, Minju Kim2, Amir Akbarian3
1Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84112, USA.
Advanced Healthcare Materials
|February 3, 2022
Summary
Gallium-based liquid metal shows promise for soft bioelectronics, but requires improved stability. A new conductive polymer coating enhances its performance for high-fidelity neural recording in vivo.
Area of Science:
- Bioelectronics
- Materials Science
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Gallium (Ga)-based liquid metals are promising for soft bioelectronics.
- Limited biostability and electrochemical performance hinder their use in physiological conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To enhance the biostability and electrochemical performance of Ga-based liquid metals.
- To demonstrate their utility in bioelectronic devices under physiological conditions.
Main Methods:
- Developed a conductive polymer deposition strategy on liquid metal surfaces.
- Utilized poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene):tetrafluoroborate for modification.
- Conducted mechanical, biological, and electrochemical assessments.
Main Results:
- The modified liquid metal surface significantly outperformed unmodified liquid metal electrodes.
- Demonstrated feasibility for high-performance neural recording via in vivo action potential recordings.
- Achieved the first single-unit neural recording using Ga-based liquid metal bioelectronic devices.
Conclusions:
- Electrochemical deposition of conductive polymer improves liquid metal electrode properties for physiological use.
- This advancement opens opportunities for next-generation liquid metal-based bioelectronics.
- Ga-based liquid metal electrodes show potential for advanced neural recording applications.
