Boosting hydrogel conductivity via water-dispersible conducting polymers for injectable bioelectronics

Bioelectronic devices hold transformative potential for healthcare diagnostics and therapeutics. Yet, traditional electronic implants often require invasive surgeries and are mechanically incompatible with biological tissues. Injectable hydrogel bioelectronics offer a minimally invasive alternative that interfaces with soft tissue seamlessly. A major challenge is the low conductivity of bioelectronic systems, stemming from poor dispersibility of conductive additives in hydrogel mixtures. We address this issue by engineering doping conditions with hydrophilic biomacromolecules, enhancing the dispersibility of conductive polymers in aqueous systems. This approach achieves a 5-fold increase in dispersibility and a 20-fold boost in conductivity compared to conventional methods. The resulting conductive polymers are molecularly and in vivo degradable, making them suitable for transient bioelectronics applications. These additives are compatible with various hydrogel systems, such as alginate, forming ionically cross-linkable conductive inks for 3D-printed wearable electronics toward high-performance physiological monitoring. Furthermore, integrating conductive fillers with gelatin-based bioadhesive hydrogels substantially enhances conductivity for injectable sealants, achieving 250% greater sensitivity in pH sensing for chronic wound monitoring. Our findings indicate that hydrophilic dopants effectively tailor conducting polymers for hydrogel fillers, enhancing their biodegradability and expanding applications in transient implantable biomonitoring.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2025-04-22
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59045-1
Citations
47
Primary Topic
Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
31.68

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article

Boosting hydrogel conductivity via water-dispersible conducting polymers for injectable bioelectronics

Negar Hosseinzadeh, Neda Mohaghegh, Alireza Hassani Najafabadi, Paul S. Weiss et al.
47 citations
Nature Communications
Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
31.68
article

Boosting hydrogel conductivity via water-dispersible conducting polymers for injectable bioelectronics

Negar Hosseinzadeh, Neda Mohaghegh, Alireza Hassani Najafabadi, Paul S. Weiss, Rohan R Sampath, Elham Davoodi, Ali Khademhosseini, Daniel G. Anderson, Róbert Langer, Fatemeh Zehtabi, Hossein Montazerian, Reihaneh Haghniaz, Yichao Zhao, Canran Wang, Farnaz Lorestani, Jiahong Li, Wei Feng Gao, Tzung K. Hsiai, Tianhan Liu, Safoora Khosravi
article en
47 citations

Abstract

Bioelectronic devices hold transformative potential for healthcare diagnostics and therapeutics. Yet, traditional electronic implants often require invasive surgeries and are mechanically incompatible with biological tissues. Injectable hydrogel bioelectronics offer a minimally invasive alternative that interfaces with soft tissue seamlessly. A major challenge is the low conductivity of bioelectronic systems, stemming from poor dispersibility of conductive additives in hydrogel mixtures. We address this issue by engineering doping conditions with hydrophilic biomacromolecules, enhancing the dispersibility of conductive polymers in aqueous systems. This approach achieves a 5-fold increase in dispersibility and a 20-fold boost in conductivity compared to conventional methods. The resulting conductive polymers are molecularly and in vivo degradable, making them suitable for transient bioelectronics applications. These additives are compatible with various hydrogel systems, such as alginate, forming ionically cross-linkable conductive inks for 3D-printed wearable electronics toward high-performance physiological monitoring. Furthermore, integrating conductive fillers with gelatin-based bioadhesive hydrogels substantially enhances conductivity for injectable sealants, achieving 250% greater sensitivity in pH sensing for chronic wound monitoring. Our findings indicate that hydrophilic dopants effectively tailor conducting polymers for hydrogel fillers, enhancing their biodegradability and expanding applications in transient implantable biomonitoring.

Nature CommunicationsVol. 16(1)
California Institute of Technology (US), Boston Children's Hospital (US), Pennsylvania State University (US), University of British Columbia (CA), University of California, Los Angeles (US), University of Utah (US), Terasaki Foundation (US), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US), Pacific States University (US)
Heritage Medical Research Institute, National Institutes of Health
Clean water and sanitation
Openalex Percentile: Top 0%
Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
31.68
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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