Research Update: Platinum-elastomer mesocomposite as neural electrode coating
Ivan R. Minev,
Nikolaus Wenger,
Grégoire Courtine,
Stéphanie P. Lacour
Affiliations
Ivan R. Minev
Laboratory for Soft Bioelectronic Interfaces, Institute of Microengineering and Institute of Bioengineering, Centre for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
Nikolaus Wenger
Brain Mind Institute, Centre for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
Grégoire Courtine
Brain Mind Institute, Centre for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
Stéphanie P. Lacour
Laboratory for Soft Bioelectronic Interfaces, Institute of Microengineering and Institute of Bioengineering, Centre for Neuroprosthetics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
Platinum is electrochemically stable and biocompatible, and remains the preferred material for the fabrication of implantable neural electrodes. In a foil or film format, platinum is mechanically stiff compared to interfaced biological tissue. We report a soft, highly stable platinum-elastomer composite that offers both mechanical compliance and the electrochemical properties of platinum. We demonstrate the high-performance of the novel mesocomposite printed on stretchable microelectrodes both in vitro and in vivo. The platinum-elastomer composite is a new promising coating for chronic neural interfaces.
