UCLA

Soft bioelectronics have emerged as prominent solutions for diagnostic, energy producing and therapeutic solutions for in vitro, in vivo, and wearable applications, given their self- powered nature, low cost, flexibility, biocompatibility, miniaturized nature, and ability to use at scale. Through their use, electrical stimulation, a renowned modulator of biological activity and tissue regeneration, has re-emerged in a number of growing applicative fields, particularly in the field of neural engineering. In this work, we explore the use of soft bioelectronics for use in neural engineering applications. First we introduce the field of soft bioelectronics, including platform technologies employed, focusing on triboelectric and magnetoelastic generators and their working mechanism. We then debate their use in electrical stimulation for neural engineering. In the core chapters, we first discuss the development of an easy-to-fabricate magnetoelastic platform for in vitro electrical stimulation, including capabilities to scale using 3D printing, adaptation to 6, 12, 24, 48 and 96-well plates, and ability to address issues of wettability, size, third-party powering and biocompability, yielding electric output values of up to 10.52 mA and 9.5 mV. In the following chapter we carry out the first ever application of a magnetoelastic platform in cellular reprogramming and assess its efficacy in helping to promote fibroblast transdifferentiation into neurons using elicited electrical stimulation, increasing transdifferentiation efficiency (up to +104%), and enhancing neuron maturation (up to +251%), providing an easily devisable and scalable electrical stimulation device for research, and paving the way for future permeation of magnetoelastic generator-based implantable devices. Finally, we delve into the design of triboelectric nanogenerators for implantable in vivo use, by discussing a computational study of ultrasound-activated implantable triboelectric generators used in electrical stimulation for neural tissue repair in indications such as spinal cord injury, helping to pave the way for broader use of implanted soft bioelectronics. To conclude this work, some future considerations on electrical stimulation for the above research is provided, and a boarder outlook on the field of soft bioelectronic electrical stimulation for therapeutic applications is given, together with an essay on the permeation of soft bioelectronics in textile form for use in personalized healthcare.