1
|
Tang H, Li Y, Liao S, Liu H, Qiao Y, Zhou J. Multifunctional Conductive Hydrogel Interface for Bioelectronic Recording and Stimulation. Adv Healthc Mater 2024; 13:e2400562. [PMID: 38773929 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202400562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2024] [Revised: 05/11/2024] [Indexed: 05/24/2024]
Abstract
The past few decades have witnessed the rapid advancement and broad applications of flexible bioelectronics, in wearable and implantable electronics, brain-computer interfaces, neural science and technology, clinical diagnosis, treatment, etc. It is noteworthy that soft and elastic conductive hydrogels, owing to their multiple similarities with biological tissues in terms of mechanics, electronics, water-rich, and biological functions, have successfully bridged the gap between rigid electronics and soft biology. Multifunctional hydrogel bioelectronics, emerging as a new generation of promising material candidates, have authentically established highly compatible and reliable, high-quality bioelectronic interfaces, particularly in bioelectronic recording and stimulation. This review summarizes the material basis and design principles involved in constructing hydrogel bioelectronic interfaces, and systematically discusses the fundamental mechanism and unique advantages in bioelectrical interfacing with the biological surface. Furthermore, an overview of the state-of-the-art manufacturing strategies for hydrogel bioelectronic interfaces with enhanced biocompatibility and integration with the biological system is presented. This review finally exemplifies the unprecedented advancement and impetus toward bioelectronic recording and stimulation, especially in implantable and integrated hydrogel bioelectronic systems, and concludes with a perspective expectation for hydrogel bioelectronics in clinical and biomedical applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hao Tang
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, No. 66, Gongchang Road, Guangming District, Shenzhen, 518107, P. R. China
- Key Laboratory of Sensing Technology and Biomedical Instruments of Guangdong Province, School of Biomedical Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, P. R. China
| | - Yuanfang Li
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, No. 66, Gongchang Road, Guangming District, Shenzhen, 518107, P. R. China
- Key Laboratory of Sensing Technology and Biomedical Instruments of Guangdong Province, School of Biomedical Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, P. R. China
| | - Shufei Liao
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, No. 66, Gongchang Road, Guangming District, Shenzhen, 518107, P. R. China
- Key Laboratory of Sensing Technology and Biomedical Instruments of Guangdong Province, School of Biomedical Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, P. R. China
| | - Houfang Liu
- School of Integrated Circuits and Beijing National Research Center for Information Science and Technology (BNRist), Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Yancong Qiao
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, No. 66, Gongchang Road, Guangming District, Shenzhen, 518107, P. R. China
- Key Laboratory of Sensing Technology and Biomedical Instruments of Guangdong Province, School of Biomedical Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, P. R. China
| | - Jianhua Zhou
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, No. 66, Gongchang Road, Guangming District, Shenzhen, 518107, P. R. China
- Key Laboratory of Sensing Technology and Biomedical Instruments of Guangdong Province, School of Biomedical Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, P. R. China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Sirolli S, Guarnera D, Ricotti L, Cafarelli A. Triggerable Patches for Medical Applications. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2024; 36:e2310110. [PMID: 38860756 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202310110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Revised: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 06/12/2024]
Abstract
Medical patches have garnered increasing attention in recent decades for several diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Advancements in material science, manufacturing technologies, and bioengineering have significantly widened their functionalities, rendering them highly versatile platforms for wearable and implantable applications. Of particular interest are triggerable patches designed for drug delivery and tissue regeneration purposes, whose action can be controlled by an external signal. Stimuli-responsive patches are particularly appealing as they may enable a high level of temporal and spatial control over the therapy, allowing high therapeutic precision and the possibility to adjust the treatment according to specific clinical and personal needs. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the existing extensive literature on triggerable patches, emphasizing their potential for diverse applications and highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of different triggering stimuli. Additionally, the current open challenges related to the design and use of efficient triggerable patches, such as tuning their mechanical and adhesive properties, ensuring an acceptable trade-off between smartness and biocompatibility, endowing them with portability and autonomy, accurately controlling their responsiveness to the triggering stimulus and maximizing their therapeutic efficacy, are reviewed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sofia Sirolli
- The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Piazza Martiri della Libertà 33, Pisa, 56127, Italy
- Department of Excellence in Robotics & AI, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Piazza Martiri della Libertà 33, Pisa, 56127, Italy
| | - Daniele Guarnera
- The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Piazza Martiri della Libertà 33, Pisa, 56127, Italy
- Department of Excellence in Robotics & AI, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Piazza Martiri della Libertà 33, Pisa, 56127, Italy
| | - Leonardo Ricotti
- The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Piazza Martiri della Libertà 33, Pisa, 56127, Italy
- Department of Excellence in Robotics & AI, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Piazza Martiri della Libertà 33, Pisa, 56127, Italy
| | - Andrea Cafarelli
- The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Piazza Martiri della Libertà 33, Pisa, 56127, Italy
- Department of Excellence in Robotics & AI, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Piazza Martiri della Libertà 33, Pisa, 56127, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Dawit H, Zhao Y, Wang J, Pei R. Advances in conductive hydrogels for neural recording and stimulation. Biomater Sci 2024; 12:2786-2800. [PMID: 38682423 DOI: 10.1039/d4bm00048j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
The brain-computer interface (BCI) allows the human or animal brain to directly interact with the external environment through the neural interfaces, thus playing the role of monitoring, protecting, improving/restoring, enhancing, and replacing. Recording electrophysiological information such as brain neural signals is of great importance in health monitoring and disease diagnosis. According to the electrode position, it can be divided into non-implantable, semi-implantable, and implantable. Among them, implantable neural electrodes can obtain the highest-quality electrophysiological information, so they have the most promising application. However, due to the chemo-mechanical mismatch between devices and tissues, the adverse foreign body response and performance loss over time seriously restrict the development and application of implantable neural electrodes. Given the challenges, conductive hydrogel-based neural electrodes have recently attracted much attention, owing to many advantages such as good mechanical match with the native tissues, negligible foreign body response, and minimal signal attenuation. This review mainly focuses on the current development of conductive hydrogels as a biocompatible framework for neural tissue and conductivity-supporting substrates for the transmission of electrical signals of neural tissue to speed up electrical regeneration and their applications in neural sensing and recording as well as stimulation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hewan Dawit
- School of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), Hefei 230026, PR China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Nano-Bio Interface, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, 215123, China.
| | - Yuewu Zhao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Nano-Bio Interface, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, 215123, China.
| | - Jine Wang
- College of Medicine and Nursing, Shandong Provincial Engineering Laboratory of Novel Pharmaceutical Excipients, Sustained and Controlled Release Preparations, Dezhou University, China.
- Jiangxi Institute of Nanotechnology, Nanchang, 330200, China
| | - Renjun Pei
- School of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), Hefei 230026, PR China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Nano-Bio Interface, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, 215123, China.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Zuo Q, Li R, Shi B, Hong J, Zhu Y, Chen X, Wu Y, Guo J. U-shaped convolutional transformer GAN with multi-resolution consistency loss for restoring brain functional time-series and dementia diagnosis. Front Comput Neurosci 2024; 18:1387004. [PMID: 38694950 PMCID: PMC11061376 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2024.1387004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 05/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction The blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal derived from functional neuroimaging is commonly used in brain network analysis and dementia diagnosis. Missing the BOLD signal may lead to bad performance and misinterpretation of findings when analyzing neurological disease. Few studies have focused on the restoration of brain functional time-series data. Methods In this paper, a novel U-shaped convolutional transformer GAN (UCT-GAN) model is proposed to restore the missing brain functional time-series data. The proposed model leverages the power of generative adversarial networks (GANs) while incorporating a U-shaped architecture to effectively capture hierarchical features in the restoration process. Besides, the multi-level temporal-correlated attention and the convolutional sampling in the transformer-based generator are devised to capture the global and local temporal features for the missing time series and associate their long-range relationship with the other brain regions. Furthermore, by introducing multi-resolution consistency loss, the proposed model can promote the learning of diverse temporal patterns and maintain consistency across different temporal resolutions, thus effectively restoring complex brain functional dynamics. Results We theoretically tested our model on the public Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) dataset, and our experiments demonstrate that the proposed model outperforms existing methods in terms of both quantitative metrics and qualitative assessments. The model's ability to preserve the underlying topological structure of the brain functional networks during restoration is a particularly notable achievement. Conclusion Overall, the proposed model offers a promising solution for restoring brain functional time-series and contributes to the advancement of neuroscience research by providing enhanced tools for disease analysis and interpretation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qiankun Zuo
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Digital Finance Innovation, Hubei University of Economics, Wuhan, Hubei, China
- School of Information Engineering, Hubei University of Economics, Wuhan, Hubei, China
- Hubei Internet Finance Information Engineering Technology Research Center, Hubei University of Economics, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Ruiheng Li
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Digital Finance Innovation, Hubei University of Economics, Wuhan, Hubei, China
- School of Information Engineering, Hubei University of Economics, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Binghua Shi
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Digital Finance Innovation, Hubei University of Economics, Wuhan, Hubei, China
- School of Information Engineering, Hubei University of Economics, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Jin Hong
- Medical Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yanfei Zhu
- School of Foreign Languages, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xuhang Chen
- Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, China
| | - Yixian Wu
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Jia Guo
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Digital Finance Innovation, Hubei University of Economics, Wuhan, Hubei, China
- School of Information Engineering, Hubei University of Economics, Wuhan, Hubei, China
- Hubei Internet Finance Information Engineering Technology Research Center, Hubei University of Economics, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Wang J, Wang T, Liu H, Wang K, Moses K, Feng Z, Li P, Huang W. Flexible Electrodes for Brain-Computer Interface System. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2023; 35:e2211012. [PMID: 37143288 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202211012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2022] [Revised: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Brain-computer interface (BCI) has been the subject of extensive research recently. Governments and companies have substantially invested in relevant research and applications. The restoration of communication and motor function, the treatment of psychological disorders, gaming, and other daily and therapeutic applications all benefit from BCI. The electrodes hold the key to the essential, fundamental BCI precondition of electrical brain activity detection and delivery. However, the traditional rigid electrodes are limited due to their mismatch in Young's modulus, potential damages to the human body, and a decline in signal quality with time. These factors make the development of flexible electrodes vital and urgent. Flexible electrodes made of soft materials have grown in popularity in recent years as an alternative to conventional rigid electrodes because they offer greater conformance, the potential for higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) signals, and a wider range of applications. Therefore, the latest classifications and future developmental directions of fabricating these flexible electrodes are explored in this paper to further encourage the speedy advent of flexible electrodes for BCI. In summary, the perspectives and future outlook for this developing discipline are provided.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Junjie Wang
- Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics (FSCFE), Xi'an Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE) & Xi'an Institute of Biomedical Materials and Engineering (IBME), Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU), 127 West Youyi Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710072, P. R. China
| | - Tengjiao Wang
- Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics (FSCFE), Xi'an Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE) & Xi'an Institute of Biomedical Materials and Engineering (IBME), Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU), 127 West Youyi Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710072, P. R. China
| | - Haoyan Liu
- Department of Computer Science & Computer Engineering (CSCE), University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA
| | - Kun Wang
- Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics (FSCFE), Xi'an Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE) & Xi'an Institute of Biomedical Materials and Engineering (IBME), Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU), 127 West Youyi Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710072, P. R. China
| | - Kumi Moses
- Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics (FSCFE), Xi'an Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE) & Xi'an Institute of Biomedical Materials and Engineering (IBME), Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU), 127 West Youyi Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710072, P. R. China
| | - Zhuoya Feng
- Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics (FSCFE), Xi'an Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE) & Xi'an Institute of Biomedical Materials and Engineering (IBME), Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU), 127 West Youyi Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710072, P. R. China
| | - Peng Li
- Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics (FSCFE), Xi'an Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE) & Xi'an Institute of Biomedical Materials and Engineering (IBME), Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU), 127 West Youyi Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710072, P. R. China
| | - Wei Huang
- Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics (FSCFE), Xi'an Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE) & Xi'an Institute of Biomedical Materials and Engineering (IBME), Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU), 127 West Youyi Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710072, P. R. China
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Hu Z, Niu Q, Hsiao BS, Yao X, Zhang Y. Bioactive polymer-enabled conformal neural interface and its application strategies. MATERIALS HORIZONS 2023; 10:808-828. [PMID: 36597872 DOI: 10.1039/d2mh01125e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Neural interface is a powerful tool to control the varying neuron activities in the brain, where the performance can directly affect the quality of recording neural signals and the reliability of in vivo connection between the brain and external equipment. Recent advances in bioelectronic innovation have provided promising pathways to fabricate flexible electrodes by integrating electrodes on bioactive polymer substrates. These bioactive polymer-based electrodes can enable the conformal contact with irregular tissue and result in low inflammation when compared to conventional rigid inorganic electrodes. In this review, we focus on the use of silk fibroin and cellulose biopolymers as well as certain synthetic polymers to offer the desired flexibility for constructing electrode substrates for a conformal neural interface. First, the development of a neural interface is reviewed, and the signal recording methods and tissue response features of the implanted electrodes are discussed in terms of biocompatibility and flexibility of corresponding neural interfaces. Following this, the material selection, structure design and integration of conformal neural interfaces accompanied by their effective applications are described. Finally, we offer our perspectives on the evolution of desired bioactive polymer-enabled neural interfaces, regarding the biocompatibility, electrical properties and mechanical softness.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhanao Hu
- State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Nano-Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, 201620, People's Republic of China.
| | - Qianqian Niu
- State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Nano-Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, 201620, People's Republic of China.
| | - Benjamin S Hsiao
- Department of Chemistry, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, 11794-3400, USA
| | - Xiang Yao
- State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Nano-Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, 201620, People's Republic of China.
| | - Yaopeng Zhang
- State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Nano-Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, 201620, People's Republic of China.
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Liang YW, Lai ML, Chiu FM, Tseng HY, Lo YC, Li SJ, Chang CW, Chen PC, Chen YY. Experimental Verification for Numerical Simulation of Thalamic Stimulation-Evoked Calcium-Sensitive Fluorescence and Electrophysiology with Self-Assembled Multifunctional Optrode. BIOSENSORS 2023; 13:265. [PMID: 36832031 PMCID: PMC9953878 DOI: 10.3390/bios13020265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2022] [Revised: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Owing to its capacity to eliminate a long-standing methodological limitation, fiber photometry can assist research gaining novel insight into neural systems. Fiber photometry can reveal artifact-free neural activity under deep brain stimulation (DBS). Although evoking neural potential with DBS is an effective method for mediating neural activity and neural function, the relationship between DBS-evoked neural Ca2+ change and DBS-evoked neural electrophysiology remains unknown. Therefore, in this study, a self-assembled optrode was demonstrated as a DBS stimulator and an optical biosensor capable of concurrently recording Ca2+ fluorescence and electrophysiological signals. Before the in vivo experiment, the volume of tissue activated (VTA) was estimated, and the simulated Ca2+ signals were presented using Monte Carlo (MC) simulation to approach the realistic in vivo environment. When VTA and the simulated Ca2+ signals were combined, the distribution of simulated Ca2+ fluorescence signals matched the VTA region. In addition, the in vivo experiment revealed a correlation between the local field potential (LFP) and the Ca2+ fluorescence signal in the evoked region, revealing the relationship between electrophysiology and the performance of neural Ca2+ concentration behavior. Concurrent with the VTA volume, simulated Ca2+ intensity, and the in vivo experiment, these data suggested that the behavior of neural electrophysiology was consistent with the phenomenon of Ca2+ influx to neurons.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yao-Wen Liang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112304, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Liang Lai
- Graduate Institute of Intellectual Property, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei 10608, Taiwan
| | - Feng-Mao Chiu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112304, Taiwan
| | - Hsin-Yi Tseng
- The Ph.D. Program in Medical Neuroscience, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University and National Health Research Institutes, Taipei 11031, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Chun Lo
- The Ph.D. Program in Medical Neuroscience, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan
| | - Ssu-Ju Li
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112304, Taiwan
| | - Ching-Wen Chang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112304, Taiwan
| | - Po-Chuan Chen
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - You-Yin Chen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112304, Taiwan
- The Ph.D. Program in Medical Neuroscience, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Rinoldi C, Ziai Y, Zargarian SS, Nakielski P, Zembrzycki K, Haghighat Bayan MA, Zakrzewska AB, Fiorelli R, Lanzi M, Kostrzewska-Księżyk A, Czajkowski R, Kublik E, Kaczmarek L, Pierini F. In Vivo Chronic Brain Cortex Signal Recording Based on a Soft Conductive Hydrogel Biointerface. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023; 15:6283-6296. [PMID: 36576451 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c17025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
In neuroscience, the acquisition of neural signals from the brain cortex is crucial to analyze brain processes, detect neurological disorders, and offer therapeutic brain-computer interfaces. The design of neural interfaces conformable to the brain tissue is one of today's major challenges since the insufficient biocompatibility of those systems provokes a fibrotic encapsulation response, leading to an inaccurate signal recording and tissue damage precluding long-term/permanent implants. The design and production of a novel soft neural biointerface made of polyacrylamide hydrogels loaded with plasmonic silver nanocubes are reported herein. Hydrogels are surrounded by a silicon-based template as a supporting element for guaranteeing an intimate neural-hydrogel contact while making possible stable recordings from specific sites in the brain cortex. The nanostructured hydrogels show superior electroconductivity while mimicking the mechanical characteristics of the brain tissue. Furthermore, in vitro biological tests performed by culturing neural progenitor cells demonstrate the biocompatibility of hydrogels along with neuronal differentiation. In vivo chronic neuroinflammation tests on a mouse model show no adverse immune response toward the nanostructured hydrogel-based neural interface. Additionally, electrocorticography acquisitions indicate that the proposed platform permits long-term efficient recordings of neural signals, revealing the suitability of the system as a chronic neural biointerface.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Rinoldi
- Department of Biosystems and Soft Matter, Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw02-106, Poland
| | - Yasamin Ziai
- Department of Biosystems and Soft Matter, Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw02-106, Poland
| | - Seyed Shahrooz Zargarian
- Department of Biosystems and Soft Matter, Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw02-106, Poland
| | - Paweł Nakielski
- Department of Biosystems and Soft Matter, Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw02-106, Poland
| | - Krzysztof Zembrzycki
- Department of Biosystems and Soft Matter, Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw02-106, Poland
| | - Mohammad Ali Haghighat Bayan
- Department of Biosystems and Soft Matter, Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw02-106, Poland
| | - Anna Beata Zakrzewska
- Department of Biosystems and Soft Matter, Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw02-106, Poland
| | - Roberto Fiorelli
- Department of Biosystems and Soft Matter, Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw02-106, Poland
| | - Massimiliano Lanzi
- Department of Industrial Chemistry "Toso Montanari", Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna40136, Italy
| | | | - Rafał Czajkowski
- Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw02-093, Poland
| | - Ewa Kublik
- Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw02-093, Poland
| | - Leszek Kaczmarek
- Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw02-093, Poland
| | - Filippo Pierini
- Department of Biosystems and Soft Matter, Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw02-106, Poland
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Sun J, Wu X, Xiao J, Zhang Y, Ding J, Jiang J, Chen Z, Liu X, Wei D, Zhou L, Fan H. Hydrogel-Integrated Multimodal Response as a Wearable and Implantable Bidirectional Interface for Biosensor and Therapeutic Electrostimulation. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023; 15:5897-5909. [PMID: 36656061 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c20057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
A hydrogel that fuses long-term biologic integration, multimodal responsiveness, and therapeutic functions has received increasing interest as a wearable and implantable sensor but still faces great challenges as an all-in-one sensor by itself. Multiple bonding with stimuli response in a biocompatible hydrogel lights up the field of soft hydrogel interfaces suitable for both wearable and implantable applications. Given that, we proposed a strategy of combining chemical cross-linking and stimuli-responsive physical interactions to construct a biocompatible multifunctional hydrogel. In this hydrogel system, ureidopyrimidinone/tyramine (Upy/Tyr) difunctionalization of gelatin provides abundant dynamic physical interactions and stable covalent cross-linking; meanwhile, Tyr-doped poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) acts as a conductive filler to establish electrical percolation networks through enzymatic chemical cross-linking. Thus, the hydrogel is characterized with improved conductivity, conformal biointegration features (i.e., high stretchability, rapid self-healing, and excellent tissue adhesion), and multistimuli-responsive conductivity (i.e., temperature and urea). On the basis of these excellent performances, the prepared multifunctional hydrogel enables multimodal wearable sensing integration that can simultaneously track both physicochemical and electrophysiological attributes (i.e., motion, temperature, and urea), providing a more comprehensive monitoring of human health than current wearable monitors. In addition, the electroactive hydrogel here can serve as a bidirectional neural interface for both neural recording and therapeutic electrostimulation, bringing more opportunities for nonsurgical diagnosis and treatment of diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jing Sun
- National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, College of Biomedical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu610064, Sichuan, China
| | - Xiaoyang Wu
- National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, College of Biomedical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu610064, Sichuan, China
| | - Jiamei Xiao
- National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, College of Biomedical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu610064, Sichuan, China
| | - Yusheng Zhang
- National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, College of Biomedical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu610064, Sichuan, China
| | - Jie Ding
- National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, College of Biomedical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu610064, Sichuan, China
| | - Ji Jiang
- National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, College of Biomedical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu610064, Sichuan, China
| | - Zhihong Chen
- National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, College of Biomedical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu610064, Sichuan, China
| | - Xiaoyin Liu
- Department of Neurosurgery, West China Medical School, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu610041, Sichuan, China
| | - Dan Wei
- National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, College of Biomedical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu610064, Sichuan, China
| | - Liangxue Zhou
- Department of Neurosurgery, West China Medical School, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu610041, Sichuan, China
| | - Hongsong Fan
- National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, College of Biomedical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu610064, Sichuan, China
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Fekete Z, Zátonyi A, Kaszás A, Madarász M, Slézia A. Transparent neural interfaces: challenges and solutions of microengineered multimodal implants designed to measure intact neuronal populations using high-resolution electrophysiology and microscopy simultaneously. MICROSYSTEMS & NANOENGINEERING 2023; 9:66. [PMID: 37213820 PMCID: PMC10195795 DOI: 10.1038/s41378-023-00519-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Revised: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
The aim of this review is to present a comprehensive overview of the feasibility of using transparent neural interfaces in multimodal in vivo experiments on the central nervous system. Multimodal electrophysiological and neuroimaging approaches hold great potential for revealing the anatomical and functional connectivity of neuronal ensembles in the intact brain. Multimodal approaches are less time-consuming and require fewer experimental animals as researchers obtain denser, complex data during the combined experiments. Creating devices that provide high-resolution, artifact-free neural recordings while facilitating the interrogation or stimulation of underlying anatomical features is currently one of the greatest challenges in the field of neuroengineering. There are numerous articles highlighting the trade-offs between the design and development of transparent neural interfaces; however, a comprehensive overview of the efforts in material science and technology has not been reported. Our present work fills this gap in knowledge by introducing the latest micro- and nanoengineered solutions for fabricating substrate and conductive components. Here, the limitations and improvements in electrical, optical, and mechanical properties, the stability and longevity of the integrated features, and biocompatibility during in vivo use are discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Z. Fekete
- Research Group for Implantable Microsystems, Faculty of Information Technology & Bionics, Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Budapest, Hungary
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience & Psychology, Eotvos Lorand Research Network, Budapest, Hungary
| | - A. Zátonyi
- Research Group for Implantable Microsystems, Faculty of Information Technology & Bionics, Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - A. Kaszás
- Mines Saint-Etienne, Centre CMP, Département BEL, F - 13541 Gardanne, France
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, CNRS UMR 7289 & Aix-Marseille Université, 13005 Marseille, France
| | - M. Madarász
- János Szentágothai PhD Program of Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
- BrainVision Center, Budapest, Hungary
| | - A. Slézia
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, CNRS UMR 7289 & Aix-Marseille Université, 13005 Marseille, France
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Perkucin I, Lau KSK, Chen T, Iwasa SN, Naguib HE, Morshead CM. Facile Fabrication of Injectable Alginate and Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-Based Soft Electrodes toward the Goal of Neuro-Regenerative Applications. Adv Healthc Mater 2022; 11:e2201164. [PMID: 36177684 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202201164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Revised: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Resident brain neural precursor cells (NPCs) are electrosensitive cells that respond to electric field application by proliferating, differentiating, and undergoing rapid and directed cathodal migration. Harnessing NPC potential is a promising strategy to facilitate neural repair following injury or disease. The use of electric fields to activate NPCs is limited by current electrode designs which are typically made of conductive metals that are stiff and can lead to neuroinflammation following implantation, in part due to the mechanical mismatch between physiological conditions and material. Herein, the design of a novel, injectable biobased soft electrode with properties suitable for electrical stimulation in vivo is explored. The recent interest in using biologically derived polymers which are relatively abundant and afford economic feasibility have been built upon. Sodium alginate is utilized to form soft hydrogels, thereby addressing the issue of mechanical mismatch, and the conductive polymer, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), to generate an innovative new material. It is demonstrated that the optimized alginate PEDOT blend matches the modulus of the brain and is suitable for injection and is not cytotoxic to neural cells. Furthermore, in vivo studies demonstrate minimal activation of inflammatory cells upon implantation in the brain compared to classically used platinum-based electrodes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ivana Perkucin
- Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3E5, Canada
| | - Kylie S K Lau
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3G9, Canada
| | - Tianhao Chen
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3G9, Canada
| | - Stephanie N Iwasa
- The KITE Research Institute, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, M5G 2A2, Canada.,CRANIA, University Health Network and University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5G 2C4, Canada
| | - Hani E Naguib
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3G9, Canada.,Department of Materials Science Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3E4, Canada.,Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3G8, Canada
| | - Cindi M Morshead
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3G9, Canada.,The KITE Research Institute, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, M5G 2A2, Canada.,CRANIA, University Health Network and University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5G 2C4, Canada.,Department of Surgery, Division of Anatomy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5T 1P5, Canada
| |
Collapse
|