Biodegradable biosensors
Soluble wireless brain sensors have been created
They report on their development in the journal Nature (Bioresorbable silicon electronic sensors for the brain).
Monitoring of such parameters of the intracranial environment as temperature, pressure, acidity and others is necessary for various brain injuries, for example, after injury or surgery. Currently, it is carried out with the help of rather bulky wired implantable sensors. These sensors can become an entrance gate for infection, cause an undesirable tissue reaction and, after use, require additional surgery to remove them, which increases the risk of complications, as well as increases the time and cost of treatment.
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have created sensors free of these shortcomings. As a material for them, scientists used polylactide-co-glycolide (PLGA) and silicone in the form of membranes tens of micrometers thick, covered with a layer of silicon oxide about 100 nanometers thick. The interface of wireless communication is molybdenum wires connected to polymer nanomembranes with a thickness of 10 micrometers, which are able to dissolve in the body. By changing the configuration of the membranes, the researchers made the sensors sensitive to pressure, fluid flow, temperature and acidity.
A picture from the Washington University School of Medicine press release
A miniature sensor installed in the cranial cavity was connected with the thinnest molybdenum wires to a wireless transmitter located on the surface of the head, operating at a distance of more than 10 meters from the receiving equipment.
In the course of in vitro experiments and on laboratory rats, the new sensors demonstrated characteristics that are not inferior to standard implantable wired analogues. At the same time, they dissolved without a trace both in a container with saline solution and in the cerebrospinal fluid of living rats for several days. No side effects were observed when using sensors.
The researchers noted that their development can be used to monitor the condition of almost any organ. In the near future, they plan to start testing the new technology on humans.
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26.01.2015