The team highlights that this new material is a single entity, combining semiconductor and hydrogel properties.
The newly developed material—both semiconductor and hydrogel at the same time—ticks all the boxes for an ideal bioelectronic interface.The University of Chicago researchers state that this hydrogel-based semiconductor could be used in various bioelectronics, from implantable medical devices like pacemakers and biosensors to wearable health monitors and even advanced prosthetics.
Moreover, it can also help develop next-gen Neuralink-like brain implant. Electronics are rigid and inflexible, while biological tissues are soft and adaptable. This fundamental difference has hindered the development of seamless interfaces between the two.“When making implantable bioelectronic devices, one challenge you must address is to make a device with tissue-like mechanical properties,” said Yahao Dai, the first author of the new paper. “That way, when it gets directly interfaced with the tissue, they can deform together and also form a very intimate bio-interface.”The resultant blue gel is soft and flexible like a jellyfish and is a powerful semiconductor. It facilitates the efficient exchange of information between living tissues and devices. The material possesses exceptional mechanical properties, including a tissue-like softness of 81 kPa and a remarkable stretchability of 150%. Moreover, it demonstrates electrical conductivity, with a charge-carrier mobility reaching 1.4 cm2 V-1 s-1. “It has very soft mechanical properties and a large degree of hydration similar to living tissue,” said Sihong Wang, UChicago PME Asst. Prof. “Hydrogel is also very porous, so it allows the efficient diffusion transport of different kinds of nutrition and chemicals. All these traits combine to make hydrogel probably the most useful material for tissue engineering and drug delivery.”Typically, hydrogels are created by dissolving a material in water and adding gelation chemicals. However, semiconductors are not water-soluble. To overcome this, researchers dissolved the semiconductors in an organic solvent miscible with water. They then created an “organogel” using the dissolved semiconductors and hydrogel precursors. “To eventually turn it into a hydrogel, we then immersed the whole material system into the water to let the organic solvent dissolve out and let the water come in,” Dai said. The team highlights that this new material is a single entity, combining semiconductor and hydrogel properties. “It’s just one piece that has both semiconducting properties and hydrogel design, meaning that this whole piece is just like any other hydrogel,” Wang said in theinflammation and immune response during implantation. Secondly, its porous nature enhances biosensing capabilities and photo-modulation effects. This allows for improved detection of biomarkers and more efficient light-based therapies, such as light-activated pacemakers or wound healing treatments.Its softness and electrical ability are a perfect match for delicate biological tissues, offering unparalleled potential for a wide range of applications. It can lead to the creation of advanced brain-machine interfaces, biosensors, and pacemakers one day. Mrigakshi is a science journalist who enjoys writing about space exploration, biology, and technological innovations. Her work has been featured in well-known publications including Nature India, Supercluster, The Weather Channel and Astronomy magazine. If you have pitches in mind, please do not hesitate to email her.
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