Materials and Technologies for Soft and Multi-modal Bioelectronic Interfaces

Date

Sep 14, 2018

Time

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Speaker

Ivan Minev

Affiliation

TU Dresden, Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering (CMCB)

Language

en

Main Topic

Materialien

Other Topics

Materialien, Physik

Host

Kristina Krummer

Description

Neural implants establish information exchange between electronics and tissues of the nervous system. Depending on the therapeutic context, they can be implanted in the brain, spinal cord or peripheral nerves. Traditionally, electrodes are made from stiff materials such as metals or silicon because of their favorable conductive and electrochemical properties. From a mechanical perspective, electrodes are very different from the soft and hydrated host tissues. This is implicated as a cause for sub-optimal biointegration, especially when long-term implantation is required. We are interested in new materials with which to make electrodes more tissue-like. In this talk, I will present our efforts to incorporate the conductive polymer PEDOT within synthetic hydrogels with elastic moduli similar to those of neural tissues. Using an in situ polymerization approach, we have achieved electrical conductivity of up to 10 S/m which is maintained at strains exceeding 200%. As a first step towards device fabrication, we used rheology modifiers to make our material compatible with 3D printing technologies. Our next steps concern the functionalization of the conductive hydrogel with artificial extracellular matrix and its integration in electrode arrays. I will also discuss a new project in our group. We aim to build devices that enable interaction with the nervous system in several "languages". The special feature here is that neural tissue is treated not only as an electrical, but also as a chemical, thermal and optical machine. We will combine sensing and actuation modules in an integrated implantable technology to investigate the combined effects of multimodal neuromodulation.

Links

• Seminars at the IFW

Last modified: Sep 12, 2018, 2:08:26 AM