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Syringe-injectable electronics

Nature Nanotechnology volume 10, pages 629–636 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

Seamless and minimally invasive three-dimensional interpenetration of electronics within artificial or natural structures could allow for continuous monitoring and manipulation of their properties. Flexible electronics provide a means for conforming electronics to non-planar surfaces, yet targeted delivery of flexible electronics to internal regions remains difficult. Here, we overcome this challenge by demonstrating the syringe injection (and subsequent unfolding) of sub-micrometre-thick, centimetre-scale macroporous mesh electronics through needles with a diameter as small as 100 μm. Our results show that electronic components can be injected into man-made and biological cavities, as well as dense gels and tissue, with >90% device yield. We demonstrate several applications of syringe-injectable electronics as a general approach for interpenetrating flexible electronics with three-dimensional structures, including (1) monitoring internal mechanical strains in polymer cavities, (2) tight integration and low chronic immunoreactivity with several distinct regions of the brain, and (3) in vivo multiplexed neural recording. Moreover, syringe injection enables the delivery of flexible electronics through a rigid shell, the delivery of large-volume flexible electronics that can fill internal cavities, and co-injection of electronics with other materials into host structures, opening up unique applications for flexible electronics.

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Figure 1: Syringe-injectable electronics.
Figure 2: Imaging of the mesh electronics structure in needle constrictions.
Figure 3: Syringe injection of mesh electronics into 3D synthetic structures.
Figure 4: Syringe-injectable electronics into an in vivo biological system.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank J.L. Huang for in vivo scaffold fabrication. C.M.L. acknowledges support from a National Institutes of Health Director's Pioneer Award, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Star Family Fund.

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Author notes

  1. Jia Liu, Tian-Ming Fu and Zengguang Cheng: These authors contributed equally to this work

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, 02138, Massachusetts, USA

    Jia Liu, Tian-Ming Fu, Zengguang Cheng, Guosong Hong, Tao Zhou, Madhavi Duvvuri, Zhe Jiang, Peter Kruskal, Chong Xie & Charles M. Lieber

  2. National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, 11 Beiyitiao Street, Zhongguancun, 100190, Beijing, China

    Zengguang Cheng & Ying Fang

  3. School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, 02138, Massachusetts, USA

    Lihua Jin, Zhigang Suo & Charles M. Lieber

Authors
  1. Jia Liu
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Contributions

J.L., T.F., Z.C. and C.M.L. designed the experiments. J.L., T.F., Z.C., G.H., T.Z., M.D. and Z.J. performed the experiments. L.J. and Z.S. performed FEM analysis. J.L., T.F., Z.C. and C.M.L. analysed the data and wrote the manuscript. J.L., T.F., Z.C., G.H., T.Z., L.J., M.D., Z.J., P.K., C.X., Z.S., Y.F. and C.M.L. discussed manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Ying Fang or Charles M. Lieber.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Liu, J., Fu, TM., Cheng, Z. et al. Syringe-injectable electronics. Nature Nanotech 10, 629–636 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2015.115

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