Bioengineers from Sweden have developed a technology for forming electrodes inside living tissue. It's their first time
Conventional bioelectronics based onclassical semiconductor technologies, is limited in application, the scientists explain. Such devices have a fixed and static design, which is difficult to combine with biological systems.
As an alternative, bioengineers have developeda method for creating soft, substrate-free materials with electronic conductivity in living tissues. To create them, scientists inject into living tissues a gel containing enzymes that act as “assembly molecules”. Contact with body substances changes the structure of the gel and makes it electrically conductive.
The body's endogenous molecules are sufficient to causethe formation of electrodes, scientists note. There is no need for genetic modification or external signals such as light or electrical energy. With the help of new technology, engineers have been able to form electrodes in the brain, heart and tail fins of zebrafish and around the nervous tissue of medicinal leeches. The material did not cause an immune reaction and did not affect the normal functioning of the body's systems in any way.
The technology for creating electrodes allows you to choosebiological substructures, in which electrodes will be formed, "target" the hydrogel. This allows the growth of suitable interfaces for nerve stimulation. In the long term, it is possible to manufacture fully integrated electronic circuits in living organisms, the authors believe.
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Cover image: Thor Balkhed, Linköpings universitet