Printed Stretchable Liquid Metal Electrode Arrays for In Vivo Neural Recording

Abstract

The adoption of neural interfacing into neurological diagnosis is severely hampered by the complex, costly, and error-prone manufacturing methods, requiring new fabrication processes and materials for flexible neural interfacing. Here a strategy for fabricating highly stretchable neural electrode arrays based on screen printing of liquid metal conductors onto polydimethylsiloxane substrates is presented. The screen-printed electrode arrays show a resolution of 50 µm, which is ideally applicable to neural interfaces. The integration of liquid metal-polymer conductor enables the neural electrode arrays to retain stable electrical properties and compliant mechanical performance under a significant (≈108%) strain. Taking advantage of its high biocompatibility, liquid metal electrode arrays exhibit excellent performance for neurite growth and long-term implantation. The stretchable electrode arrays can spontaneously conformally come in touch with the brain surface, and high-throughput electrocorticogram signals are recorded. Based on stretchable electrode arrays, real-time monitoring of epileptiform activities can be provided at different states of seizure. The method reported here offers a new fabrication strategy to manufacture stretchable neural electrodes, with additional potential utility in diagnostic brain-machine interfaces.