Organic Electrodes and Communications with Excitable Cells

Electrodes can provide information on neural function and stimulate neural activity. These neural electrodes can provide remarkable benefit to people suffering physical trauma or neural disease. Traditional metal electrodes have shortcomings related to poor biostability, cytocompatibility, and a rigid structure that maps poorly to tissue. Organic conductors can be formed with various chemical and physical properties to create improved electrode-neural interfaces. The processability of organic conductors enables their use in advanced fabrication methods. This review details the use of graphene, carbon nanotubes, and conducting polymers for neural interfacing. Construction of novel neural electrode architectures via advanced fabrication processes is also addressed.