Additive Manufacturing of Bioelectronics for Biomedical Applications

Stimuli-responsive biomaterials have significant potential for the development of systems capable of the controlled delivery of drugs, neuromodulation and tissue engineering. We are interested in the development of smart biomaterials capable of responding to one or more stimuli (typically electricity, light and magnetism), and demonstrating their efficacy in vitro/vivo. We employ an interdisciplinary approach (combining chemistry, materials science, biology, engineering and medicine) to generate biomaterials with task-specific properties, 3D printing non-degradable materials designed for neuromodulation (in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo), and developing degradable/transient electronics for drug delivery and tissue scaffolds to control cell behaviour.<br/>The focus of this presentation is the development of 3D objects with integrated electronics produced using an additive manufacturing approach relying on multiphoton fabrication (direct laser writing, DLW). Conducting polymer-based structures (with micrometer-millimeter scale features) are printed within various matrices (including an polydimethylsiloxane which has been widely investigated for biomedical applications), the fidelity of the printing process was assessed by optical coherence tomography, and the conducting polymer structures were demonstrated to be capable of stimulating mouse brain tissue in vitro. Furthermore, the applicability of the approach to printing structures in vivo is demonstrated in live nematodes (<i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i>). These results highlight the potential for such additive manufacturing approaches to produce next-generation advanced material technologies, notably integrated electronics for technical and medical applications (e.g., human-computer interfaces).