Mesh electronics (injectable)

Mesh electronics are open, macroporous networks in which the polymer-and-metal framework is patterned into a lattice with feature sizes and spacings comparable to individual neurons, and with an ultralow bending stiffness engineered to approach that of brain tissue. Because the structure is mostly empty space, cells and neurites can interpenetrate the mesh rather than wall it off, and the framework offers little mechanical mismatch to resist.

In chronic rodent work this architecture has shown seamless three-dimensional integration with minimal glial upregulation and stable tracking of the same single neurons over months to about a year, together with evidence that new neuron growth can incorporate the mesh. The trade-off is low device density per unit tissue volume and demanding fabrication and connectorisation of a structure that behaves more like a fabric than a chip.