Aug 06, 2024 |
(Nanowerk Information) Gold doesn’t readily lend itself to being become lengthy, skinny threads. However researchers at Linköping College in Sweden have now managed to create gold nanowires and develop delicate electrodes that may be linked to the nervous system. The electrodes are delicate as nerves, stretchable and electrically conductive, and are projected to final for a very long time within the physique.
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Some individuals have a “heart of gold”, so why not “nerves of gold”? Sooner or later, it could be attainable to make use of this treasured metallic in delicate interfaces to attach electronics to the nervous system for medical functions. Such know-how could possibly be used to alleviate situations reminiscent of epilepsy, Parkinson’s illness, paralysis or continual ache. Nevertheless, creating an interface the place electronics can meet the mind or different components of the nervous system poses particular challenges.
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The delicate electrodes developed by Klas Tybrandt’s analysis group at Linköping College are stretchable to comply with the physique’s actions with out damaging tissue. They include extraordinarily skinny threads of gold and delicate silicone rubber. (Picture: Thor Balkhed)
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“The classical conductors used in electronics are metals, which are very hard and rigid. The mechanical properties of the nervous system are more reminiscent of soft jelly. In order to get an accurate signal transmission, we need to get very close to the nerve fibres in question, but as the body is constantly in motion, achieving close contact between something that is hard and something that is soft and fragile becomes a problem”, says Klas Tybrandt, professor of supplies science on the Laboratory of Natural Electronics at Linköping College, who led the analysis.
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Researchers due to this fact wish to create electrodes which have good conductivity in addition to mechanical properties just like the softness of the physique. Lately, a number of research have proven that delicate electrodes don’t harm the tissue as a lot as exhausting electrodes could do. Within the present research, revealed within the journal Small (“Stretchable tissue-like gold nanowire composites with long-term stability for neural interfaces”), a gaggle of researchers at Linköping College have developed gold nanowires – a thousand occasions thinner than a hair – and embedded them in an elastic materials to create delicate microelectrodes.
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“We’ve succeeded in making a new, better nanomaterial from gold nanowires in combination with a very soft silicone rubber. Getting these to work together has resulted in a conductor that has high electrical conductivity, is very soft and made of biocompatible materials that function with the body,” says Klas Tybrandt.
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Silicone rubber is utilized in medical implants, reminiscent of breast implants. The delicate electrodes additionally embody gold and platinum, metals which are frequent in medical units for scientific use.
Nevertheless, making lengthy, slender gold nanostructures may be very tough. This has to this point been a significant impediment, however the researchers have now give you a brand new strategy to manufacture gold nanowires. They usually do it by utilizing silver nanowires.
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As silver has distinctive properties that make it an excellent materials to create the sort of nanowires that the researchers are after, it’s utilized in some stretchable nanomaterials. The issue with silver is that it’s chemically reactive. In the identical method that silver cutlery will discolour over time when chemical reactions happen on the floor, silver in nanowires breaks down in order that silver ions leak out. In a excessive sufficient focus, silver ions might be poisonous to us.
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It was when Laura Seufert, a doctoral pupil in Klas Tybrandt’s analysis group, was engaged on discovering a strategy to synthesize, or “grow”, gold nanowires that she got here up with a brand new method that opened up new potentialities. At first, it was tough to regulate the form of the nanowires. However then she found a method that resulted in very easy wires. As an alternative of making an attempt to develop gold nanowires from the start, she began with a skinny nanowire made from pure silver.
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“As it’s possible to make silver nanowires, we take advantage of this and use the silver nanowire as a kind of template on which we grow gold. The next step in the process is to remove the silver. Once that’s done, we have a material that has over 99 per cent gold in it. So it’s a bit of a trick to get around the problem of making long narrow gold nanostructures,” says Klas Tybrandt.
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In collaboration with Professor Simon Farnebo on the Division of Biomedical and Medical Sciences at Linköping College, the researchers behind the research have proven that the delicate and elastic microelectrodes can stimulate a rat nerve as effectively seize alerts from the nerve.
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In functions the place the delicate electronics are to be embedded within the physique, the fabric should final for a very long time, ideally for all times. The researchers have examined the soundness of the brand new materials and concluded that it’ll final for a minimum of three years, which is best than lots of the nanomaterials developed to this point.
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The analysis workforce is now engaged on refining the fabric and creating several types of electrodes which are even smaller and may come into nearer contact with nerve cells.
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