Drop-printing with dynamic stress release for conformal wrap of bioelectronic interfaces

Area of Science:

• Bioelectronic interfaces
• Materials science
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Bioelectronic devices offer applications in health monitoring, medical treatment, and augmented reality.
• Conformal wrapping of film devices onto 3D surfaces causes stress and damage.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a damage-free film transfer method for bioelectronic interfaces.
• To enable conformal wrapping of nonstretchable and fragile films onto delicate surfaces.

Main Methods:

• A "drop-printing" strategy using a droplet as a lubricating layer for local sliding.
• Shape-adaptive deformation preventing in-plane film stretching and stress concentration.

Main Results:

• Intact and accurate wrapping of nonstretchable and fragile films onto microscale microorganisms and optical fibers.
• Successful drop-printing of 2-micrometer-thick silicon films onto nerves and brain tissue.
• Conformal neural-electronic interfaces achieved light-controlled in vivo neuromodulation with high spatiotemporal resolution.

Conclusions:

• The drop-printing strategy enables damage-free transfer and conformal wrapping of bioelectronic films.
• This method facilitates the creation of advanced neural-electronic interfaces for in vivo neuromodulation.