Liquid-based encapsulation for implantable bioelectronics across broad pH environments. Nat Commun 2025 Jan 25;16(1):1019
Date
01/26/2025Pubmed ID
39863617Pubmed Central ID
PMC11762702DOI
10.1038/s41467-025-55992-xScopus ID
2-s2.0-85216997873 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 28 CitationsAbstract
Wearable and implantable bioelectronics that can interface for extended periods with highly mobile organs and tissues across a broad pH range would be useful for various applications in basic biomedical research and clinical medicine. The encapsulation of these systems, however, presents a major challenge, as such devices require superior barrier performance against water and ion penetration in challenging pH environments while also maintaining flexibility and stretchability to match the physical properties of the surrounding tissue. Current encapsulation materials are often limited to near-neutral pH conditions, restricting their application range. In this work, we report a liquid-based encapsulation approach for bioelectronics under extreme pH environments. This approach achieves high optical transparency, stretchability, and mechanical durability. When applied to implantable wireless optoelectronic devices, our encapsulation method demonstrates outstanding water resistance in vitro, ranging from extremely acidic environments (pH = 1.5 and 4.5) to alkaline conditions (pH = 9). We also demonstrate the in vivo biocompatibility of our encapsulation approach and show that encapsulated wireless optoelectronics maintain robust operation throughout 3 months of implantation in freely moving mice. These results indicate that our encapsulation strategy has the potential to protect implantable bioelectronic devices in a wide range of research and clinical applications.
Author List
Sun H, Xue X, Robilotto GL, Zhang X, Son C, Chen X, Cao Y, Nan K, Yang Y, Fennell G, Jung J, Song Y, Li H, Lu SH, Liu Y, Li Y, Zhang W, He J, Wang X, Li Y, Mickle AD, Zhang YAuthor
Aaron David Mickle PhD Associate Professor in the Physiology department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AnimalsBiocompatible Materials
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Mice
Prostheses and Implants
Wearable Electronic Devices
Wireless Technology
