Charge-Engineered COFs for Biointegrated Memristor Nerves

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Neuroscience
• Bioelectronics

Background:

• Restoring motor function after neurological injury necessitates advanced artificial neural interfaces.
• Existing interfaces often struggle with low power consumption and long-term stability.
• Emulating biological rate coding is crucial for effective neural signal translation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop molecular-level engineered covalent organic frameworks (COFs) for biointegrated memristors.
• To create artificial efferent nerves capable of emulating biological rate coding.
• To investigate the impact of charge functionalization on memristive properties and device performance.

Main Methods:

• Synthesized positively and negatively charged COF nanosheets.
• Integrated COFs into a conductive-filament memristor architecture.
• Evaluated memristive behaviors, switching voltage, ON/OFF ratio, power consumption, leakage, and stability under bending.
• Performed in vivo testing in a mouse model to assess motor function emulation.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated polarity-dependent memristive behaviors in COF nanosheets.
• Negatively charged COFs enhanced electrostatic interactions, reducing switching voltage to 0.5 V and achieving an ON/OFF ratio > 10^5.
• Achieved low power consumption (0.04 nW), suppressed leakage (~5 pA), and stable operation over 5000 bending cycles.
• Successfully translated neuronal spike trains into smooth muscle contractions in vivo, emulating physiological motor control.

Conclusions:

• Charge-engineered COFs provide a viable molecular-level strategy for creating stable, low-power artificial efferent nerves.
• This approach offers a promising platform for advancing neuromorphic and bioelectronic technologies for motor function restoration.
• The developed COF memristors effectively emulate biological rate coding and physiological motor control.