Silk-Silicon Implantable Electronics Dissolve in the Body
November 3, 2009 – 6:02 pm
Silk substrates fitted with silicon transistors can be implanted to conform to the body's tissues. The orange liquid in the photo is a disinfectant used during the implanting procedure. Image courtesy of Rogers/Omenetto.
Popular Science has reported that researchers have devised electronics encased in a substrate that can dissolve within the body. The resulting nanocircuitry, left behind after the dissolution of the substrate, could be used for electrical interfaces for applications such as photonic tattoos that display blood-sugar readouts on the skin’s surface or electrodes capable of interfacing directly with the nervous system.
The research marks a considerable difference from the strategy behind most implantable medical devices, which are generally encased in a container that protects the body of the host as well as the device’s internal circuitry. The scientists behind the research hail from a variety of universities such as University of Pennsylvania and the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. In lab studies, the researchers have demonstrated that the circuity left behind after the silk substrate dissolves does not trigger a immune system response in the body; the silicon circuits that remain are only a couple of nanometres thick.
More information on the research is available from Popular Science.
Tags: circuitry, Electronics, nanocircuitry, University of Illinois, University of Pennsylvania
