Soft sonocapacitor with topologically integrated piezodielectric nanospheres enables wireless epidural closed-loop neuromodulation

Capacitively coupled electrical stimulation modulates neuronal activity through reversible charging and without charge transfer reactions. This represents a promising and safe neuromodulation scheme but achieving wireless and high capacitive charge density injection remains challenging. Here, we developed a topological fibrous-architecture sonocapacitor (SonoCap) that assembled from piezoelectric-dielectric composite nanosphere (UCapT) and two-dimensional cellulose. UCapT features a unique piezoelectric core-hollow cavity-dielectric cage structure that can efficiently couples ultrasound excitation to achieve piezoelectric electron-capacitance transfer, and its highly assembled SonoCap achieves cumulative charge storage, a high ion-accessible surface area, and macroscopic softness, thereby enabling wireless and high capacitive charge density injection. SonoCap can achieve a capacitive charge density output of up to 9.7 mC cm<sup>-2</sup> under 0.63 W cm<sup>-2</sup> ultrasound excitation, while generating a negligible Faradaic charge of 2 nC cm<sup>-2</sup>. We demonstrated that SonoCap can transcranially and epidurally modulate neural circuit dynamics in rat and pig brains, without introducing intracerebral foreign bodies and maintaining ventricular homeostasis. By integrating a deep learning-based closed-loop diagnostic system, on-demand, wireless, and epidural capacitive electrical stimulation treatment for temporal lobe epilepsy can be achieved. The design concept of SonoCap is expected to inspire expanding development of functional capacitive stimulators, potentially promoting the widespread application of capacitive electrical neuromodulation.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2026-01-06
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-67723-3
Primary Topic
Neuroscience and Neural Engineering
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Soft sonocapacitor with topologically integrated piezodielectric nanospheres enables wireless epidural closed-loop neuromodulation

Zhang-Qi Feng, Weiying Zheng, Fenglin Liu, Siwei Zhang et al.
Nature Communications
Neuroscience and Neural Engineering
article

Soft sonocapacitor with topologically integrated piezodielectric nanospheres enables wireless epidural closed-loop neuromodulation

Zhang-Qi Feng, Weiying Zheng, Fenglin Liu, Siwei Zhang, Zhidong Wei, Ye Zi You, Fei Jin, Yu Wang, Lili Qian, Juan Ma, Ting Wang, Tong Li
article en

Abstract

Capacitively coupled electrical stimulation modulates neuronal activity through reversible charging and without charge transfer reactions. This represents a promising and safe neuromodulation scheme but achieving wireless and high capacitive charge density injection remains challenging. Here, we developed a topological fibrous-architecture sonocapacitor (SonoCap) that assembled from piezoelectric-dielectric composite nanosphere (UCapT) and two-dimensional cellulose. UCapT features a unique piezoelectric core-hollow cavity-dielectric cage structure that can efficiently couples ultrasound excitation to achieve piezoelectric electron-capacitance transfer, and its highly assembled SonoCap achieves cumulative charge storage, a high ion-accessible surface area, and macroscopic softness, thereby enabling wireless and high capacitive charge density injection. SonoCap can achieve a capacitive charge density output of up to 9.7 mC cm<sup>-2</sup> under 0.63 W cm<sup>-2</sup> ultrasound excitation, while generating a negligible Faradaic charge of 2 nC cm<sup>-2</sup>. We demonstrated that SonoCap can transcranially and epidurally modulate neural circuit dynamics in rat and pig brains, without introducing intracerebral foreign bodies and maintaining ventricular homeostasis. By integrating a deep learning-based closed-loop diagnostic system, on-demand, wireless, and epidural capacitive electrical stimulation treatment for temporal lobe epilepsy can be achieved. The design concept of SonoCap is expected to inspire expanding development of functional capacitive stimulators, potentially promoting the widespread application of capacitive electrical neuromodulation.

Nature CommunicationsVol. 17(1)
Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine (CN), City University of Hong Kong (HK), Nanjing University of Science and Technology (CN), Southeast University (BD), Southeast University (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
Openalex Percentile: Top 95%
Neuroscience and Neural Engineering
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