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Body-conformable light-emitting materials and devices

Nature Photonics volume 18, pages 114–126 (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

Body-conformable light-emitting devices have generated considerable interest because of their widespread potential applications in aerospace, medicine and electronics. These devices, which are flexible, stretchable and soft, can integrate seamlessly and inconspicuously with the human body for tasks such as real-time monitoring, display of information, biosensing, optogenetic stimulation and medical therapy. At present, designs can be roughly divided into three different types: wearable light-emitting textiles, attachable light-emitting skins and implantable light-emitting biodevices. Here we evaluate recent advances in all three areas, discussing the materials design, device engineering strategies and diverse applications of these devices. The outstanding challenges and issues that need to be resolved before achieving widespread adoption and improved capabilities are highlighted.

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Fig. 1: Different methods for making fibre-shaped light-emitting devices.
Fig. 2: Construction of light-emitting textiles and their various wearable applications.
Fig. 3: Applications of attachable light-emitting skins.
Fig. 4: Implantable light-emitting biodevices with promising properties.
Fig. 5: Different applications of implantable light-emitting biodevices.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers BE1100046, 21834007 and T2188102), National Key R&D Program of China (2023YFA0915200), Shanghai "Science and Technology Innovation Action Plan" Project (23JC1402900) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University (grant numbers SD6040004/089 and WH220411004). We thank A. L. Chun of Science Storylab for critically reading and editing the manuscript.

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  1. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

    Zhitao Zhang, Yue Wang & Chunhai Fan

  2. Zhangjiang Institute for Advanced Study, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

    Zhitao Zhang

  3. Zhangjiang Laboratory, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

    Sisi Jia

  4. Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

    Chunhai Fan

  5. Institute of Molecular Medicine, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Nucleic Acids Chemistry and Nanomedicine, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

    Chunhai Fan

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Z.Z., Y.W., S.J. and C.F. contributed to writing and revising the manuscript, and approved the final version.

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Correspondence to Zhitao Zhang.

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Zhang, Z., Wang, Y., Jia, S. et al. Body-conformable light-emitting materials and devices. Nat. Photon. 18, 114–126 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-023-01335-5

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