Journal Article

Biodegradable nanofiber-based piezoelectric transducer

Le, Thinh T., Paul, Debayon, Yue, Lixia, Curry, Eli J., Nguyen, Thanh D., Santorella, Elise M., Pachter, Joel, Wu, Qian, Golabchi, Asiyeh, Ke, Kai, Rowe, David, Chen, I-Ping, Baroody, Jeffrey, Feng, Jianlin, Chorsi, Meysam T., Morales-Acosta, M. Daniela, Cui, X. Tracy, Das, Ritopa, Borges, Emily R., Xin, Xiaonan, Ko, Brian, Tran, Khanh T. M.

2020

Overview

Piezoelectric materials, a type of “smart” material that generates electricity while deforming and vice versa, have been used extensively for many important implantable medical devices such as sensors, transducers, and actuators. However, commonly utilized piezoelectric materials are either toxic or nondegradable. Thus, implanted devices employing these materials raise a significant concern in terms of safety issues and often require an invasive removal surgery, which can damage directly interfaced tissues/organs. Here, we present a strategy for materials processing, device assembly, and electronic integration to 1) create biodegradable and biocompatible piezoelectric PLLA [poly(L-lactic acid)] nanofibers with a highly controllable, efficient, and stable piezoelectric performance, and 2) demonstrate device applications of this nanomaterial, including a highly sensitive biodegradable pressure sensor for monitoring vital physiological pressures and a biodegradable ultrasonic transducer for blood–brain barrier opening that can be used to facilitate the delivery of drugs into the brain. These significant applications, which have not been achieved so far by conventional piezoelectric materials and bulk piezoelectric PLLA, demonstrate the PLLA nanofibers as a powerful material platform that offers a profound impact on various medical fields including drug delivery, tissue engineering, and implanted medical devices.

• Publisher: National Academy of Sciences
• Subject: Absorbable Implants / Actuators / Biocompatibility / Biodegradability / Biodegradable materials / Biodegradation / Blood-brain barrier / Drug delivery / Drug Delivery Systems / Electricity / Electronics / Engineering / Equipment Design / Materials processing / Medical devices / Medical electronics / Medical equipment / Micro-Electrical-Mechanical Systems - instrumentation / Monitoring, Physiologic - instrumentation / Nanofibers / Nanofibers - chemistry / Nanomaterials / Organs / Physical Sciences / Piezoelectricity / Polylactic acid / Pressure / Pressure sensors / Prostheses and Implants / Surgery / Tissue Engineering / Transducers / Ultrasonic transducers / Ultrasonics