Ultrasoft electronics to monitor dynamically pulsing cardiomyocytes

• Published in: Nature nanotechnology Vol. 14; no. 2; pp. 156 - 160
• Main Authors: Lee, Sunghoon, Sasaki, Daisuke, Kim, Dongmin, Mori, Mami, Yokota, Tomoyuki, Lee, Hyunjae, Park, Sungjun, Fukuda, Kenjiro, Sekino, Masaki, Matsuura, Katsuhisa, Shimizu, Tatsuya, Someya, Takao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Nature Publishing Group 01.02.2019
• Subjects: Biodegradation; Cardiomyocytes; Contraction; Elastomers; Electronic devices; Electronic equipment; Electronics; Embedded systems; Flexible components; Hydrogels; Mapping; Mechanical properties; Nanofibers; Perturbation; Pluripotency; Recording; Softness; Stem cells; Stretchability; Substrates
• ISSN: 1748-3387; 1748-3395
• DOI: 10.1038/s41565-018-0331-8

In biointegrated electronics, the facile control of mechanical properties such as softness and stretchability in electronic devices is necessary to minimize the perturbation of motions inherent in biological systems . For in vitro studies, multielectrode-embedded dishes and other rigid devices have been widely used. Soft or flexible electronics on plastic or elastomeric substrates offer promising new advantages such as decreasing physical stress and/or applying mechanical stimuli . Recently, owing to the introduction of macroporous plastic substrates with nanofibre scaffolds , three-dimensional electrophysiological mapping of cardiomyocytes has been demonstrated. However, quantitatively monitoring cells that exhibit significant dynamical motions via electric probes over a long period without affecting their natural motion remains a challenge. Here, we present ultrasoft electronics with nanomeshes that monitor the field potential of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes on a hydrogel, while enabling them to move dynamically without interference. Owing to the extraordinary softness of the nanomeshes, nanomesh-attached cardiomyocytes exhibit contraction and relaxation motions comparable to that of cardiomyocytes without attached nanomeshes. Our multilayered nanomesh devices maintain reliable operations in a liquid environment, enabling the recording of field potentials of the cardiomyocytes over a period of 96 h without significant degradation of the nanomesh devices or damage of the cardiomyocytes.