Stretchable Electronics and its Applications in Biology Pritam Dev Bhattarai Materials exist in our world in many shapes

and forms: from the structures that make our cell membrane to the structures that help a plane take off from the ground. With such a vast array of materials, we sometimes succumb to material stereotypes and start grouping them. For example, one stereotype is that materials in biology are soft, stretchy, and curved, while electronic materials are rigid. However, material engineers have worked day and night to eliminate this stereotype with the use of stretchable electronics, a new field that could lead to great improvements in our society.1 As the name suggests, these electronic materials are designed to take high levels of strain, thus making them able to, like the biological materials, stretch and curve.1 The implementation of the new technology could range from therapeutics abilities, to photography, to communication devices, or to any other system that is hindered by the inflexibility of electronics.2 By examining what a stretchable electronic is and how it is typically engineered, we could observe some of its very recent applications such as the integrated health monitors and take a look at the coming advancements in that field. Stretchable Electronics is a class of large-area electronics that can sustain high levels of strain without fracture or significant degradation in their electronic properties.3 To view it simply, there are two methods of achieving this ability. One is with innovative structure involving conventional materials, while the other is innovative materials with conventional structuring.2 One way to go about stretchable structures is to go small: a material that is thin enough will demonstrate flexibility. Thus, most of the work involving stretchable electronics is done in a very small and thin scale.2 Another way is to create a wavy structure. Analogous to the

accordion, bonding structures into wave like forms, like that shown in Figure 1, gives them the ability to stretch and compress.3 The next idea is to use new materials, such as single walled carbon nanotubes.2 These new developed materials can be intricately designed to take high strain. In most all cases, the combination of the two would yield the perfect electronic, using both the semiconductor nano-materials as active components, and device layout that minimize strain.4 The true understanding of such devices is very difficult and complex, but the importance in everyday life could be easily seen. One of the most exciting uses of this technology is with biointegration. Biointegration is an application where these electronics are placed on the live tissue.4 Figure 2 shows an example of such biointegration while testing on animal tissue. Because the electronics themselves are tissue-like, they can monitor body motions without difficulty or harsh effects. These electronics with little wire connections also have thousands or millions of interface pointsfor advance processing, monitoring, [and] stimulating.4 This enables them to monitor body functions like blood pressure, blood oxygenation, temperature, and glucose levels for long periods of time, while also enabling them to react quickly.5 Some electronics are used to completely surround the heart and stimulate each heartbeat, helping the medicine field greatly. Conventional methods would be to manually place probes at different locations in the heart; a method that is slower, more difficult, and provides worse data.4 Companies like MC10 are taking this technology and trying to implement it in todays world, but this is just the starting point; people are developing this technology to do much more.5 One relevant idea is that a material would detect the areas of abnormal cardiac tissue, while mapping it in high resolution. Another idea, that is a bit farther down the line, is implanting materials in the brain that senses seizures and stops them.5

When you look at technology, it is incredible how every year, every month, or even every day, you see innovation that has potential of shaping the world. Some in large scale, and some in small. This field of stretchable electronics is one that is removing the limitations of electronic materials being rigid, helping innovation flourish. Biology is one such example, where it is convenient of having this new material. If we think about the number of patients that need intensive care and observe the ease that this new technology enables, we can see how impactful this innovation is. The new ideas of solving problems, like that mentioned with the seizures, are inspiring. Though some ideas seem more readily applicable to daily life in this time period, we cant ignore the potential of an innovation to play a role. In the case of stretchable electronics, the potential is high because it enables us to cross the limitations of the rigidness of electronic materials and expose society to a new aspect that may one day be the new norm.