Cited by 42Neuroscience and Neural EngineeringConducting polymers and applicationsUndergraduate Neuroscience Education and Research

Advanced metallic and polymeric coatings for neural interfacing: structures, properties and tissue responses

Open access
Yin, Pengfei, Liu, Yang, Xiao, Lin, Zhang, Chao·2021·Polymers

Abstract

Neural electrodes are essential for nerve signal recording, neurostimulation, neuroprosthetics and neuroregeneration, which are critical for the advancement of brain science and the establishment of the next-generation brain–electronic interface, central nerve system therapeutics and artificial intelligence. However, the existing neural electrodes suffer from drawbacks such as foreign body responses, low sensitivity and limited functionalities. In order to overcome the drawbacks, efforts have been made to create new constructions and configurations of neural electrodes from soft materials, but it is also more practical and economic to improve the functionalities of the existing neural electrodes via surface coatings. In this article, recently reported surface coatings for neural electrodes are carefully categorized and analyzed. The coatings are classified into different categories based on their chemical compositions, i.e., metals, metal oxides, carbons, conducting polymers and hydrogels. The characteristic microstructures, electrochemical properties and fabrication methods of the coatings are comprehensively presented, and their structure–property correlations are discussed. Special focus is given to the biocompatibilities of the coatings, including their foreign-body response, cell affinity, and long-term stability during implantation. This review article can provide useful and sophisticated insights into the functional design, material selection and structural configuration for the next-generation multifunctional coatings of neural electrodes.

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Crossref · 10.3390/polym13162834

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  • Neural tissue might undergo fibrosis in response to chemical exposure.

    “Lastly, in response to chemical exposure, neural tissue might undergo fibrosis, a defensive yet functionally compromising mechanism (Grisold and Carozzi, 2021; Schander et al., 2021; Yin et al., 2021; World Health Organization: WHO, 2023).”

    From Comparative analysis of energy transfer mechanisms for neural implants (2024) · cites this paper as Yin et al., 2021

    Section 2, “Tissue Responses to Implantable Neural Electrodes” (page unavailable), describes glial scarring as a chronic inflammatory response around implanted electrodes and says the scar can impair electrode function. It does not establish that chemical exposure causes neural tissue to undergo fibrosis; the exposure described is to an implanted electrode. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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  • Leaked substances can disrupt the ionic balance of sodium, potassium, and calcium, leading to excitotoxicity.

    “These leaked substances can also disrupt the ionic balance of essential elements like sodium, potassium, and calcium, leading to excitotoxicity—a pathological process causing neuron damage due to excessive neurotransmitter stimulation.”

    From Comparative analysis of energy transfer mechanisms for neural implants (2024) · cites this paper as Yin et al., 2021

    Section 3.1 discusses possible toxic lead release from a coating, and Section 2 discusses neuronal injury associated with implant-related inflammation. Neither passage says that leaked substances disrupt sodium, potassium, or calcium balance or cause excitotoxicity; searches for those ions and excitotoxicity found no passage addressing that mechanism. The supplied copy gives no page numbers for these sections. (LLM, conf=0.74)

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6 of the 229 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [49]Beamish F.E. The Analytical Chemistry of the Noble Metals Elsevier Amsterdam, The Netherlands 2013 Chapter 1

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Authors
Yin, P., Liu, Y., Xiao, L., & Zhang, C.
Affiliations
Sun Yat-sen University (CN)
Corresponding author
  • Liu, Yang
  • Zhang, Chao
Venue
Polymers
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2021-08-23
Volume
13
Issue
16
Pages
2834
ISSN
2073-4360 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3194500586
Cited by
42
References
229
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 2
FWCI
1.02
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Polymers (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (81801851)
  • Guangdong Science and Technology Department (2018A030310075)
  • China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2018M633230)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neural Engineering
  • Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Polymers and Plastics › Conducting polymers and applications
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Undergraduate Neuroscience Education and Research
Keywords
neural electrodes, surface coating, neural interfaces, foreign body reaction, biocompatibility, conducting polymers, hydrogels, metal oxides, carbon coating, metal coatings, neuroprosthetics, neurostimulation, nerve regeneration, structure-property relationships

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