Flexural characterization of carbon nanotube (CNT) yarn neural electrodes

Abstract

Chronic recording and stimulation in central and peripheral nerves require both high mechanical and biological compatibility. The biocompatible CNT yarn has shown promising mechanical advantage as a novel neural electrode. In this study, we quantitatively characterized the mechanical properties of CNT yarn electrodes from the perspective of the flexural limit and the flexural rigidity. The traditional test configuration was remedied for ultrafine samples with efficient elimination of the bias caused by the manual operation. As compared to the traditional Platinum-Iridium (Pt-Ir) wire electrode, CNT yarns with the similar diameter had a much more promising flexural-limit property, and thus can overcome the severe electrode failure in chronic neural recording or stimulation.

Keywords

• neural electrode
• carbon nanotube yarn
• flexural limit
• flexural rigidity
• three-point bending test