Ion-shielding ultrathin encapsulation with hot-press bonded interface enables chronic stretchable bioelectronics
Stretchable physiological electrodes are indispensable for continuous, high-fidelity bio-signal monitoring, yet liquid water and ions invade nano/microscopic interfacial defects and silence signals within weeks. We introduce an ion-shielding ultrathin encapsulation that is molecularly fused to the stretchable conductor with a hot-press bonded interface to block aqueous ingress. A single-step hot pressing expels trapped air and interdiffuses polymer chains, erasing interfacial defects. The hot-press bonded interface exhibits exceptional resistance to water and ion penetration of >12 months in solution, more than 10 times longer than untreated interfaces (less than a month). Stretchable physiological electrodes with ~10-micrometer-thick encapsulation achieved stable, high-fidelity electrophysiological recordings in demanding environments, as demonstrated by continuous monitoring of cardiomyocytes for 29 days in vitro and long-term signal recording in rat spinal cords spanning 12 weeks in vivo.
Authors
- Huajian Gao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8656-846X)
- Ming Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1898-3239)
- Guijin Zou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0047-7012)
- Can Cao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6125-0837)
- Matthew Ackers‐Johnson
- C. Guo
- Vaibavi Srirangam Ramanujam
- W M Li
- Sing Yian Chew (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6084-5967)
- Wei Ju
- Prasanna Vidyasekar
- Zekun Long (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4208-0702)
- Feilong Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6243-7388)
- Zhi Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3949-0641)
- Xiaodong Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3312-1664)
- Jing Yu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8985-1180)
Institutions
- Agency for Science, Technology and Research (SG)
- Nanyang Technological University (SG)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Harbin Institute of Technology (CN)
- Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (SG)
- Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry (CN)
- National University Health System (SG)
- Tsinghua University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science Advances
- Published
- 2026-05-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aed7125
- Primary Topic
- Neuroscience and Neural Engineering
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Agency for Science, Technology and Research
- National Research Foundation Singapore
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Science, Technology and Innovation Commission of Shenzhen Municipality
- National Science Foundation, United Arab Emirates