AUTHOR=Hosseini Seyed Mahmoud , Rihani Rashed , Batchelor Benjamin , Stiller Allison M. , Pancrazio Joseph J. , Voit Walter E. , Ecker Melanie TITLE=Softening Shape Memory Polymer Substrates for Bioelectronic Devices With Improved Hydrolytic Stability JOURNAL=Frontiers in Materials VOLUME=5 YEAR=2018 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/materials/articles/10.3389/fmats.2018.00066 DOI=10.3389/fmats.2018.00066 ISSN=2296-8016 ABSTRACT=
Candidate materials for next generation neural recording electrodes include shape memory polymers (SMPs). These materials have the capability to undergo softening after insertion in the body, and therefore reduce the mismatch in modulus that usually exists between the device and the tissue. Current SMP formulations, which have shown promise for neural implants, contain ester groups within the main chain of the polymer and are therefore prone to hydrolytic decomposition under physiological conditions over periods of 11–13 months