The integration of electronic devices with living or biological components offers the promise of unprecedented novel systems. However,interfacingsolid-state devices with biospecimens such as proteins, cells, or tissues, either in vivo or in vitro, remains a considerable challenge and yet an impediment to producing fully integrated bio-electronic systems.

The great challenge for these interfaces is that they must be biocompatible on multiple levels. For example, electronic components must be compatible with the harsh aqueous ionic environment necessary for biological activity. Device micro/nanofabrication methods and materials must not denature proteins or poison cells. Surfaces may need to be functionalized for adhesion of proteins or with biological adhesion factors to ensure cellular contact. Consideration of the mechanical interface may be important, as well, for preventing shear or stress concentrations at the interface of the typically very stiff materials used in traditional electronics manufacture and the much more compliant biologic materials (proteins, cells, or tissue). Furthermore, the interface must allow for sufficient coupling of signal transfer (electrons, ions, and photons) over long-time scales without drift.

Plastic electronics, i.e., inorganic/organic devices on compliant plastic or even elastic substrates, offer promising opportunities to overcome these challenges and improve the biocompatibility between electronic devices and biologics.

Relevant submissions to this symposium will detail the various strategies to overcome soft-hard interface challenges and other hurdles to improve the interface between electronic and biologic components in hybrid devices.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

Biological Sensing on Soft Substrates

• Polymer-based biosensors
• Biosensors on deformable substrates
• Novel surface coatings for electrodes to improve biocompatibility/charge transfer

Electronics on Compliant Substrates for Biological Interfaces

• Plastic electronics and biomedical applications
• Organic electronics on compliant substrates
• Inorganic electronics on compliant substrates

Fabrication and Processing

• Biocompatible micro-/nanofabrication process
• Substrates and materials
• Low-temperature processing
• Printing device materials on biocompatible plastic substrates

Integrated Electrobiological Interfaces

• Sensitive skin
• Optimization of electrode/tissue interface
• Mechanically matched electrobiological systems
• Electronic/optical coupling (capacitive, direct carrier transport, and electrochemical) between the electronic world and the biological molecules/cells/tissues

Invited speakers include: Daryl R. Kipke (Univ. of Michigan), Klaus P. Koch (Fraunhofer-Inst. für Biomedizinische Technik IBMT, Germany), Luke Lee (Univ. of California-Berkeley), David C. Martin (Univ. of Michigan), Arto Nurmikko (Brown Univ.), Takao Someya (Univ. of Tokyo, Japan), and Dustin Tyler (Case Western Reserve Univ.).

Joao Pedro Conde
Instituto Superior Tecnico
Dept. of Chemical Engineering
Av. Rovisco Pais
P-1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal, and INESC Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias
Rua Alves Redol, 9, P-1000-029
Lisbon, Portugal
Tel 351-21-841-9632
Fax 351-21-849-9242
joao.conde@ist.utl.pt 

Barclay Morrison III
Columbia University
Dept. of Biomedical Engineering
1210 Amsterdam Ave.
New York, NY 10027
Tel 212-854-6277
Fax 212-854-8725
bm2119@columbia.edu

Stéphanie P. Lacour
Princeton University
Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Princeton NJ 08544
Tel 609-258-3582
Fax 609-258-6279
slacour@princeton.edu