Overview
- Researchers at Purdue reported in Science that hemoproteins in blood catalyze the in vivo assembly of an n-type conductive polymer called n-PBDF.
- In mice, injections of monomers with a small amount of whole blood formed a mesh around neurons that changed sodium and potassium channel activity.
- Two-photon near-infrared light reversed the polymer’s neural effects, enabling precise and localized control in living tissue.
- Short-term safety signals showed no detected inflammation, neural cell loss, or behavior changes in mice, and zebrafish embryos reached about 80% survival after one week.
- The method replaces earlier copper-salt catalysts with endogenous iron-based proteins and could yield gentler brain–computer interfaces, though experts urge long-term toxicity studies and tests in larger animals.