<p class="first" id="P1">Advancement in neurotechnologies for electrophysiology, neurochemical
sensing, neuromodulation,
and optogenetics are revolutionizing scientific understanding of the brain while enabling
treatments, cures, and preventative measures for a variety of neurological disorders.
The grand challenge in neural interface engineering is to seamlessly integrate the
interface between neurobiology and engineered technology, to record from and modulate
neurons over chronic timescales. However, the biological inflammatory response to
implants, neural degeneration, and long-term material stability diminish the quality
of interface overtime. Recent advances in functional materials have been aimed at
engineering solutions for chronic neural interfaces. Yet, the development and deployment
of neural interfaces designed from novel materials have introduced new challenges
that have largely avoided being addressed. Many engineering efforts that solely focus
on optimizing individual probe design parameters, such as softness or flexibility,
downplay critical multi-dimensional interactions between different physical properties
of the device that contribute to overall performance and biocompatibility. Moreover,
the use of these new materials present substantial new difficulties that must be addressed
before regulatory approval for use in human patients will be achievable. In this review,
the interdependence of different electrode components are highlighted to demonstrate
the current materials-based challenges facing the field of neural interface engineering.
</p><p id="P2">
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<b>Neural interface engineering</b> aims to apply advanced functional materials to
seamlessly integrate neural technology
with the nervous system in order to restore brain function in patients and uncover
at least some of the brain’s mysteries. This review highlights the challenges and
interdependence of material components for long-term functional performance, and compiles
a “roadmap” to guide materials-based neural interface engineering.
</p>