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Monday, 16th November 2009 (4815 views)

Gold has been used in the development of biodegradable organic transistors that could be used to remotely release drugs or monitor the body's healing process before harmlessly dissolving.

A team from Stanford University in California has become the first to successfully fabricate electronics from fully biodegradable semiconducting materials, Technology Review noted.

The researchers, led by chemical engineering professor Zhenan Bao, developed a prototype device using biodegradable plastics approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, biodegradable semiconductor material that resembles the skin pigment melanin and gold electrical contacts also approved for use inside the body.

When exposed to pH levels and conditions similar to those inside the body, the device dissolves and after 70 days, all that remains are electrical contacts just tens of nanometres thick.

Robert Langer of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said the research could "open up opportunities for implants inside the body".

The devices could be loaded with antibodies that could be remotely released using radio frequencies if needed. Alternatively, the chips could monitor the post-surgery healing process before dissolving.

Standford scientists are currently working on different coatings help them control when the chip starts to break down.

 

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