Session: 13-08-01: Mechanics and Materials of Soft Electronics I

Paper Number: 172715

Multifunctional, Strain-Insensitive, Porous Soft Bioelectronics 

Soft bioelectronics represent a promising frontier in personalized healthcare, enabling seamless integration with biological tissues for continuous physiological monitoring, early diagnosis, and timely therapeutic interventions. These emerging technologies hold the potential to transform healthcare from reactive, hospital-based treatments to proactive, personalized, and user-centered care accessible at any time and in any place. However, despite their immense promise, the practical deployment of soft bioelectronic systems remains significantly constrained by two key challenges: chronic biocompatibility and motion-induced signal artifacts under dynamic, real-life conditions. Chronic biocompatibility refers to the ability of bioelectronics to safely interface with biological tissues over prolonged periods without eliciting adverse reactions such as irritation, inflammation, or immune responses. Ensuring chronic biocompatibility is crucial for achieving consistent, long-term monitoring necessary for early disease detection and continuous health tracking. Concurrently, motion-induced artifacts generated by routine daily activities—such as motion and exercising—present substantial obstacles by compromising signal accuracy, reliability, and ultimately, diagnostic performance. These artifacts can significantly hinder the practical application and patient acceptance of wearable and implantable bioelectronics.

 

In this talk, I will present our recent advancements in the design, fabrication, and characterization of multifunctional, strain-insensitive, porous soft bioelectronics. By leveraging phase separation, electrospinning, and engineered nanomaterials such as liquid metal particles, metallic nanowires, and cellulose nanofibrils, we have developed innovative multifunctional, strain-insensitive, porous soft bioelectronics. These novel material systems are explicitly tailored to overcome the inherent limitations of existing nonporous soft bioelectronic devices by providing extreme softness, high breathability, intrinsic antimicrobial activity, waterproof capability, and robust mechanical and electrical stability under significant strain. I will specifically highlight practical device examples, including wearable electrophysiological sensors designed for reliable cardiac activity monitoring and sweat biochemical sensors capable of precise and noninvasive biochemical analysis. A critical innovation of these devices is their electromechanical decoupling capability, a strategic design feature that eliminates or significantly reduces motion artifacts. This capability ensures the acquisition of high-fidelity biosignals during various real-life activities, providing unprecedented reliability and accuracy. Furthermore, I will briefly outline our scalable, versatile, and cost-effective fabrication methods, such as additive manufacturing techniques, which facilitate rapid prototyping, easy customization, and broad applicability in diverse healthcare scenarios. Additionally, I will discuss ongoing efforts to integrate advanced artificial intelligence algorithms with these bioelectronic systems, enabling real-time data analysis, predictive diagnostics, and personalized interventions. Collectively, our research addresses foundational challenges and accelerates the translation of soft bioelectronics from laboratory research into practical solutions, thus enhancing personalized healthcare and improving patient outcomes through continuous and reliable biosensing.

Presenting Author: Zheng Yan University of Missouri

Presenting Author Biography: Dr. Zheng Yan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering and holds the Cramer W. LaPierre Professorship in Engineering at the University of Missouri-Columbia (MU). At MU, Dr. Yan directs the Soft Materials and Bio-Electronics (SMBE) Lab, dedicated to advancing the science and technology of tissue-interfaced soft bioelectronics at the interdisciplinary convergence of materials science, biology, mechanics, and electronics. His research aims to tackle significant challenges in precision healthcare and fundamental biological studies through innovative bioelectronic solutions. To date, Dr. Yan has published about 100 peer-reviewed research articles and received several notable awards, such as the NSF CAREER Award, Materials Today Rising Star Award in Biomaterials, the University of Missouri System President's Award for Early Career Excellence, the MU College of Engineering Outstanding Junior Faculty Research Award, and the Chinese Association of Biomaterials (CAB) Young Investigator Award.

Authors:

Zheng Yan University of Missouri