Towards Dynamic Bioelectronic Implants for Neural Interfaces

Significant advances have been made in the last two decades in interfacing electronic devices with the nervous system. Organic electronic materials in particular have emerged as ideal materials for interfacing with the neural tissues due to their flexibility, biocompatibility and moreover their electronic and ionic conductivity. To that end, significant research efforts are being pursued to develop minimally invasive, implantable organic electronic devices integrating recording, stimulating, and drug delivery features. Here we report recent developments towards such dynamic devices for neural interfacing that take full advantage of the favorable properties offered by conducting polymers and soft polymer substrates. It is shown that thin, flexible devices can incorporate microfluidic channels to enable precise drug delivery and actuated shape control. Furthermore, we show such features open the door to novel implantation strategies that can reduce the surgical footprint required for implantation of large bioelectronic devices in the central nervous system. We anticipate this work will accelerate the development of a new generation of minimally invasive implants for neural interfacing.