Structurally engineered ultrasoft PEDOT:PSS fiber microelectrodes with enhanced electrochemical performance for neural interfaces
Stable and reliable neural interfacing is essential for the diagnosis and treatment of chronic neurological disorders. Flexible neural probes are particularly important for this purpose, as they minimize tissue damage and inflammatory responses while maintaining stable electrode-tissue coupling; however, achieving both high electrical performance and tissue-like mechanics remains challenging. Here, we present a poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) fiber microelectrode (PFME), an all-organic neural probe capable of recording single-neuron activities with potential for long-term interfacing. The PFME is entirely composed of organic components and fabricated without thermal processing. In addition, the posttreatment process enables to selectively remove PSS binder networks while promoting PEDOT chain alignment to optimize mechanical compliance and electrochemical performance. In vivo, the PFME enables stable single-unit recordings from the mouse hippocampus. Histological analysis after 1 week of implantation reveals minimal glial activation comparable to that elicited by a conventional probe. This structurally engineered PFME establishes a pathway to achieve minimally invasive neural interfacing platforms for chronic applications.
Authors
- Ki Jun Yu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2922-2702)
- Janghwan Jekal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9590-2853)
- Chaebeen Kwon
- Il‐Joo Cho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9016-6749)
- Sungjoon Cho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1215-9759)
- Chihyeong Won (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2141-7983)
- Jinwoo Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1418-3309)
- Sang Hoon Park (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9085-6667)
- Yong Wook Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5234-2454)
- Young Uk Cho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2578-5177)
- Sorim Han
- Siyeon Kweon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-0710-9516)
- Taeyoon Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8269-0257)
- Ju Young Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3349-0248)
- Sheng Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3120-4992)
- Jumyoung Jang
- Kyung-In Jang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4664-5029)
- Wei Gao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8503-4562)
- Hyun Woo Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9762-018X)
Institutions
- California Institute of Technology (US)
- Incheon National University (KR)
- Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (KR)
- Yonsei University (KR)
- Korea University (KR)
- Stanford Medicine (US)
- Stanford University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science Advances
- Published
- 2026-05-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aee2754
- Primary Topic
- Neuroscience and Neural Engineering
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Ministry of Education
- Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy
- National Research Foundation of Korea