Abstract

One of the most important scientific and technological frontiers of our time is the interfacing of electronics with living systems. This endeavour promises to deliver new tools for diagnosis and treatment of disease. Current solutions, however, are limited by the materials that are brought in contact with the tissue and transduce signals across the biotic/abiotic interface. Recent advances in electronics have made available materials with a unique combination of attractive properties, including mechanical flexibility, mixed ionic/electronic conduction, enhanced biocompatibility, and capacity for drug delivery. I will present examples of novel devices for recording and stimulation of neurons and demonstrate new technologies that offer tremendous opportunities to study the nervous system and treat its pathologies. · J. Rogers, G. Malliaras, and T. Someya, “Biomedical devices go wild”, Sci. Adv. 4, eaav1889 (2018).

· J. Rivnay, H. Wang, L. Fenno, K. Deisseroth, and G.G. Malliaras, “Next-generation probes, particles, and proteins for neural interfacing”, Sci. Adv. 3, e1601649 (2017).

· T. Someya, Z. Bao, and G.G. Malliaras, “The rise of plastic bioelectronics”, Nature 540, 379 (2016).