Light-regulated biomaterial interfaces enable flexible neural bioelectronics with stable adhesion and on-demand detachment for chronic electrophysiology

Dynamic bioelectronic interfaces are required to simultaneously ensure stable tissue integration for chronic recording and controllable debonding for device reconfiguration or retrieval. This challenge is particularly acute for implantable neural interfaces, where weak adhesion compromises signal fidelity, while permanent adhesion may cause secondary tissue damage during removal. Here, we developed a photo-programmable neural biointerface incorporating a self-healing bPDMS@Fe matrix based on a carboxyl-functionalized polydimethylsiloxane network dynamically crosslinked by Fe3+-carboxylate coordination.

The resulting electrode exhibits robust adhesion to diverse substrates and biological tissues, as well as on-demand removal through UV-induced adhesion weakening. Moreover, it supports stable epidermal electrocardiogram recording under various conditions. Furthermore, the biointerface is translated into a 9-channel cortical electrode array that enables stable local field potential recording and spatiotemporal mapping of seizure-associated neural activity in freely moving mice.

This work establishes a dynamic adhesive strategy as a new materials design paradigm for neural bioelectronic interfaces toward next-generation chronic electrophysiological monitoring devices. The authors acknowledge the Fudan Nano-fabrication Lab for support with nanofabrication. The authors would like to acknowledge the support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32300935, 32130044 and T2241002), Shanghai Rising Star Program (23YF1407200), National Key R&D Program of China (2024YFF0507601), Changping Laboratory (2025B-07-21), Brain Science and Brain-like Intelligence Technology-National Science and Technology Major Project (2021ZD0202500), and Program of Shanghai Academic/Technology Research Leader (21XD1400100).

The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, preparation of the manuscript, or decision to publish. Department of Pain Management, Huadong Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disorders, Institute for Translational Brain Research, MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China Zili Li, Binbin Hu, Quansheng He, Zhongzhong Wang, Liting Sun, Haoyi Yang, Xiaoxue Zhang, Yousheng Shu & Miao Tang College of Future Information Technology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China Department of Neurosurgery, Shanghai Deji Hospital-The 9th Clinical College, Qingdao University, Shanghai, China The authors declare no competing interests. Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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