Combined with state-of-the-art micro-sculpting techniques, a new resin holds promise for making customized electrodes for fuel cells or batteries, as well as biosensor interfaces for medical uses.
A rabbit sculpture, the size of a typical bacterium, was one of several shapes created by a team of Japanese scientists using a new material that can be molded into complex, highly conductive 3-D structures.
“One of the most promising applications is 3-D microelectrodes that could interface with the brain,” says Yuya Daicho, graduate student at Yokohama National University and lead author of the paper. These brain interfaces, rows of needle-shaped electrodes pointing in the same direction like teeth on combs, can send or receive electrical signals from neurons and can be used for deep brain stimulation and other therapeutic interventions to treat disorders.
The work opens a door for researchers trying to create conductive materials in almost any complex shape at the microscopic or cellular level.
