Adhesive nonfibrotic bioelectronic interfaces on diverse peripheral nerves for long-term functional neuromodulation
Bioelectronic devices implanted on peripheral nerves offer potential for the treatment and rehabilitation of clinical diseases. However, the foreign body reaction and the subsequent fibrous capsule formation at the device-peripheral nerve interface severely limit their efficacy and longevity in vivo. Here, we describe a robust bioadhesive strategy that can establish nonfibrotic bioelectronic interfaces on diverse peripheral nerves-occipital, vagus, deep peroneal, sciatic, tibial, and common peroneal nerves-for up to 12 weeks. Our approach inhibits the infiltration of immune cells into the interface, thereby preventing the formation of fibrous capsules in the inflammatory microenvironment. We demonstrate that our adhesive bioelectronic device with nonfibrotic interfaces maintains long-term blood pressure regulation in a spontaneously hypertensive rat model over 4 weeks. Furthermore, we confirm minimal accumulation of macrophages, smooth muscle actin, and collagen at nonfibrotic bioelectronic interfaces after 12 weeks of device implantation with nerve stimulation, supporting long-lasting neuromodulation without fibrosis.
Authors
- Jingjing Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4565-6914)
- Bastien F.G. Aymon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1964-7328)
- Xuanhe Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5387-6186)
- Tao Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6507-8912)
- Hyunmin Moon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4372-4864)
- Vincent Prevosto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8803-5918)
- Fan Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2988-0614)
- Jue Deng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3746-8494)
Institutions
- Pennsylvania State University (US)
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research (US)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science Advances
- Published
- 2025-11-05
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adz3668
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Vagus Nerve Stimulation Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.84