IN-PERSON EVENT

PhD: Georgios Alexandros Katirtsidis

Directors:

ICREA Prof. Jose Antonio Garrido & Dr Eduard Masvidal

Graphene-based thin-film technology offers great potential for next-generation neural interfaces, but long-term reliability remains challenging due to encapsulation instability in physiological environments. This study presents a hybrid polyimide (PI)/ALD-Al₂O₃ encapsulation integrated with nanoporous reduced graphene oxide (rGO) microelectrodes. The encapsulation demonstrated excellent stability after accelerated aging equivalent to approximately 2.5 years in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) at 57 °C and thousands of bending cycles.

Nanoporous rGO microelectrodes maintained their structural integrity and electrochemical performance after 531 days in PBS, 2 billion stimulation pulses, and repeated mechanical bending. Chronic implantation in rats demonstrated stable bidirectional recording and stimulation for over three months. Furthermore, acute implantation in a porcine model enabled successful subcortical and epicortical neural recordings. Integration with a magneto-robotic implantation strategy further highlights the potential for minimally invasive applications. These results establish a promising platform for chronic neural monitoring and neuromodulation.

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