Biodegradable Material Featuring Embedded Silicon-on-Silk

University have developed an approach of integrating single crystalline silicon electronics, made out of nanomembranes, into silk that is both biocompatible and absorbable by the body. This can lead to the introduction of monitors and therapeutic devices into spaces where traditional electronics cannot function safely. The small size of the thin silicon circuits avoids adverse biological reactions while the silk conforms to tissue and dissolves harmlessly over time, factors that make the technology ideal for safely integrating biomedical devices into the human body. Monitors are not the only potential integrative application. The technology could be used to create electrodes for brain-machine interfaces such as prostheses. The researchers report that the paper outlines strategies for " integrating single crystalline silicon electronics, where the silicon is in the form of nanomembranes, onto water soluble and biocompatible silk substrates, " they add. " Electrical, bending, water dissolution, and