Bioactive Conducting Polymers for Optimising the Neural Interface - Biointerfaces: Where Material Meets Biology - page 192

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CHAPTER 8
Bioactive Conducting Polymers
for Optimising the Neural
Interface

JOSEF GODING, RYLIE GREEN, PENNY MARTENS AND
LAURA POOLE-WARREN*

Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, University of New South
Wales, Australia
*Email: [e-mail]

8.1 Introduction
Since the seminal research of MacDiarmid, Heegerand and Shirakawa in the
1970s, interest in conducting polymers has largely focussed on improving
the stability and electrical properties of this extraordinary class of polymers.
More recently, interest in their application for biomedical uses has in-
creased, with particular focus on surface electrodes, drug delivery devices,
biosensors and implantable electrodes interfacing with the nervous system.
While forms of conducting polymers that exhibit high stability and good
electrical properties have been identified, limitations associated with their
mechanical properties and biological performance restrict their widespread
application to medical devices. However, with the increasing electrode
complexity and the drive to reduce electrode size in many neural appli-
cations, metal electrodes are reaching their limits. There is clearly a need for
electrode materials that support safe and sustainable delivery of the ap-
propriate stimulation to excitable tissues.

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