Materials and Design Strategies of Fully 3D Printed Biodegradable Wireless Devices for Biomedical Applications
ABSTRACT 3D printing of bioelectronics offers a versatile platform for fabricating personalized and structurally integrated electronic systems within biological scaffolds. Biodegradable electronics, which naturally dissolve after their functional lifetime, minimize the long‐term burden on both patients and healthcare providers by eliminating the need for surgical retrieval. In this study, we developed a library of 3D‐printable, biodegradable electronic inks encompassing conductors, semiconductors, and dielectrics, thereby enabling the direct printing of fully functional, multi‐material, customizable electronic systems in a single integrated process. Especially, conjugated molecules were introduced to improve charge mobility and energy level alignment in semiconducting inks. This ink platform supports the fabrication of passive and active components and physical and chemical sensors, making it suitable for complex biomedical applications. Versatility of this system was demonstrated through two representative applications: (i) wireless pressure sensor embedded within biodegradable scaffolds, (ii) wireless electrical stimulators that retain programmable electrical functionality in vivo and degrade post‐implantation. This work establishes a foundation of modules for autonomous, biodegradable bioelectronic systems fabricated entirely via 3D printing, with implications for personalized diagnostics, therapeutic interfaces, and transient medical devices.
Authors
- Kyung‐Sub Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-4575-8310)
- Woo‐Byoung Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9327-3195)
- Minseong Chae (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7011-3210)
- Joo-Hyeon Park
- Se-Hun Kang
- Seung Kwon Seol (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8733-4374)
- Sung‐Geun Choi
- Jooik Jeon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5781-7706)
- Kang-Sik Lee
- Jahyun Koo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1503-0731)
- Seung‐Kyun Kang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9779-8976)
- Sun-Young Park (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6624-8514)
- Jung Keun Hyun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9254-4424)
- Ju‐Young Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3096-1350)
- Jieun Han (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3612-3945)
- Ju‐Yong Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6001-0590)
- Yea-seol Park
- Young-Seo Kim
- Jun Min Moon
- Myung-Kyun Choi
- Ju‐Yong Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9267-1594)
- Jae‐Hwan Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8524-7755)
- Seung‐Min Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2288-6186)
- Yoon‐Nam Kim
Institutions
- Seoul National University (KR)
- Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KR)
- Kwangwoon University (KR)
- Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KR)
- Korea University (KR)
- Asan Medical Center (KR)
- Korea University (JP)
- Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (KR)
- Ajou University (KR)
- Korea University of Science and Technology (KR)
- Dankook University (KR)
- Stanford University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Functional Materials
- Published
- 2026-09-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.78432
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy
- National Research Foundation of Korea
- Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea