Issue 42, 2022

Biodegradable bioelectronics for biomedical applications

Abstract

Biodegradable polymers have been widely used in tissue engineering with the potential to be replaced by regenerative tissue. While conventional bionic interfaces are designed to be implanted in living tissue and organs permanently, biocompatible and biodegradable electronic materials are now progressing a paradigm shift towards transient and regenerative bionic engineering. For example, biodegradable bioelectronics can monitor physiologies in a body, transiently rehabilitate disease symptoms, and seamlessly form regenerative interfaces from synthetic electronic devices to tissues by reducing inflammatory foreign-body responses. Conventional electronic materials have not readily been considered biodegradable. However, several strategies have been adopted for designing electroactive and biodegradable materials systems: (1) conductive materials blended with biodegradable components, (2) molecularly engineered conjugated polymers with biodegradable moieties, (3) naturally derived conjugated biopolymers, and (4) aqueously dissolvable metals with encapsulating layers. In this review, we endeavor to present the technical bridges from electrically active and biodegradable material systems to edible and biodegradable electronics as well as transient bioelectronics with pre-clinical bio-instrumental applications, including biodegradable sensors, neural and tissue engineering, and intelligent drug delivery systems.

Graphical abstract: Biodegradable bioelectronics for biomedical applications

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
12 jul. 2022
Accepted
11 sep. 2022
First published
29 sep. 2022

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2022,10, 8575-8595

Biodegradable bioelectronics for biomedical applications

S. Lee, S. M. Silva, L. M. Caballero Aguilar, T. Eom, S. E. Moulton and B. S. Shim, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2022, 10, 8575 DOI: 10.1039/D2TB01475K

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