Iontronics have promising applications in biomimetics, biomedical technology and neuromorphic computing. But the current iontronic devices mainly use solid-state technology, which relies on micro- or nanofluidic systems with electrolytes confined within solid channels. Additionally, the biocompatibility of these systems is insufficient and the miniaturisation is difficult.
Made by the self-assembly of surfactant-supported nanoliter silk hydrogel droplets, “dropletronics” could bring about new possibilities for miniature iontronic systems.
Hydrogel iontronic devices can emulate biological functions and communicate with living matter. The collaborative work from the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in NDM, the departments of Chemistry, the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and the Institute of Electrical and Microengineering at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne demonstrates a droplet-based synthetic synapse with ionic-polymer-mediated long-term plasticity, which could serve as a biocompatible sensor to record electrophysiological signals from cardiomyocytes.
As cellular signalling relies on ion transport, dropletronics can also act as a biocompatible interface between electronic and biological systems for sensing cardiac activity. The use of cardiomyocytes in this research suggests the potential for dropletronics to become a valuable tool for investigating cancer-treatment induced cardiotoxicity.
To find out more, please read the full article on the Science website: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adr0428