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In situ electrochemical polymerization of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) for peripheral nerve interfaces

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Abstract

The goal of this study was to perform in situ electrochemical polymerization of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) in peripheral nerves to create a soft, precisely located injectable conductive polymer electrode for bi-directional communication. Intraneural PEDOT polymerization was performed to target both outer and inner fascicles via custom fabricated 3D printed cuff electrodes and monomer injection strategies using a combination electrode-cannula system. Electrochemistry, histology, and laser light sheet microscopy revealed the presence of PEDOT at specified locations inside of peripheral nerve. This work demonstrates the potential for using in situ PEDOT electrodeposition as an injectable electrode for recording and stimulation of peripheral nerves.

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Acknowledgments

This work was sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Biological Technologies Office (BTO) Targeted Neural Plasticity (TNT) program under the auspices of Drs. Doug Weber and Tristan McClure-Begley through the DARPA Contracts Management Office: No. HR0011-17-2-0019 and the National Science Foundation (NSF CMMI—1739318).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Jamie M. Murbach, Adrienne Widener & Kevin J. Otto

  2. Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Seth Currlin & Kevin J. Otto

  3. Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA

    Yuxin Tong & Blake N. Johnson

  4. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA

    Shrirang Chhatre, Vivek Subramanian & David C. Martin

  5. J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Kevin J. Otto

  6. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Kevin J. Otto

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  1. Jamie M. Murbach
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  2. Seth Currlin
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  3. Adrienne Widener
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  4. Yuxin Tong
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  5. Shrirang Chhatre
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  6. Vivek Subramanian
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  7. David C. Martin
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  8. Blake N. Johnson
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  9. Kevin J. Otto
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Correspondence to Kevin J. Otto.

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Murbach, J.M., Currlin, S., Widener, A. et al. In situ electrochemical polymerization of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) for peripheral nerve interfaces. MRS Communications 8, 1043–1049 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrc.2018.138

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/mrc.2018.138

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