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An integrated systems engineering framework based on life-cycle inventories is used to quantify the global eco-footprint of wearable healthcare electronics and identify effective mitigation strategies.

The ability to efficiently transfer photons from a light source to an optical circuit is crucial, and requires efficient coupling of light to optical fibres and waveguides. Using state-of-the-art fabrication techniques, Hong-Gyu Park and colleagues create a device that uses nanowires to inject light into photonic-crystal waveguides in an efficient way. The structure could become an important part of the nanophotonics toolbox.

A silicon dioxide passivation layer dramatically lengthens the operational lifetime of flexible electronic arrays for cardiac electrophysiology.

A wearable hydrogel-based electrochemical platform is presented for on-demand hydrogen gas therapy, enabling localized gas generation, storage and sustained delivery. This device offers a therapeutic modality for treating ischemia–reperfusion heart disease and skin bedsores, expanding bioelectronics applications in gas-phase chemical delivery.

Detecting dilute airborne biomarkers is important in healthcare but is limited by the low sensitivity of current gas sensors. A portable, low-cost device is introduced that uses water condensation to enrich airborne biomarkers into a concentrated liquid, enabling existing liquid sensors to detect biomarkers with high sensitivity and broad accessibility.

A nanoporous photocatalyst producing low levels of hydrogen peroxide is shown to modulate intracellular stress granules, enhancing resilience against oxidative stress and providing cardioprotection in an ex vivo rodent model of myocardial ischaemia–reperfusion injury.

Semiconductor polymers containing selenophene in their backbones and immunomodulatory groups in their side chains enable the fabrication of implantable bioelectronic devices with enhanced immune compatibility and low foreign-body response.

Three-dimensional bioactive scaffolds can support tissue growth for studies in cellular biophysics and regenerative medicine. Such scaffolds have now been integrated with semiconductor nanowires to probe their porous interior, allowing for real-time monitoring of signals such as the response of neural and cardiac tissue models to drugs.

A silicon-based electrode system is described that allows tunable spatiotemporal photostimulation of cardiac systems, with the optoelectronic capabilities of these devices being demonstrated in mouse, rat and pig heart models.

A silicon nanowire field-effect transistor coupled to the interior of a cell by means of a hollow silicon dioxide nanotube can detect changes in the electric potential of the intracellular fluid.

Solar cells based on such coaxial nanowires made from silicon have been fabricated. Under a standard one solar equivalent (1-sun) illumination a maximum power output up to 200 pW per nanowire and an apparent energy conversion efficiency of up to 3.4% is achieved. Experiments demonstrate that such silicon nanowire photovoltaic elements can serve as robust power sources in nanoelectronic circuits.

Zigzag nanowires containing field-effect transistors and p–n diodes at the kinks have been made with a new growth technique.

A biomimetic antigen-presenting system uses hexapod heterostructures to probe T-cell recognition at single-cell resolution.

Developing biointerfaces that combine the advantages of both monolithic and focal elements remains challenging. Now, a hydrogel that releases surface-modified granules and shows biointerface transition capability has been developed. This granule-releasing hydrogel manages colitis, accelerates wound healing, and facilitates cardiac tissue regeneration and mapping of cardiac activity with bioelectronic devices.

A highly porous carbon-based electrode with optimal mechanical and electrochemical properties is implemented in a bioelectronics device for the modulation of cardiomyocyte contraction in vitro, the excitation of heart and retina ex vivo and the stimulation of sciatic nerve in vivo.

Stretchable electronics are attractive for a range of biomedical applications, but are challenging to prepare with suitable mechanical properties. Here, the authors report the use of a soft interlayer that allows the development of stretchable electronics with tissue-like material properties.

Microfabrication has an essential role in device fabrication but is accompanied by unfavourable environmental footprint. This study presents a bioinspired permeable junction approach for sustainable microfabrication, which eliminates the use of hazardous chemicals and minimizes energy consumption.

Fabrication of semiconductor heterojunctions typically involves a complex process and often leads to bioincompatibility. Here, the authors propose a porous heterojunction in p-type silicon via simple stain etching at ambient conditions, and apply it in optically induced biomodulation.

Creating hierarchical synthetic materials that can modulate microbial communities remains a great challenge due to the complex interactions between microbiota and their colonized environments. Now, a soil-inspired chemical system that responds to chemical, optical and mechanical stimuli has been developed. The soil-inspired chemical system can enhance microbial cultures and biofuel production, enrich gut bacterial diversity and alleviate ulcerative colitis symptoms.

An epicardial patch made from materials that match the mechanical softness of heart tissue can perform spatiotemporal mapping of electrophysiological activity, as well as strain and temperature sensing, pacing and ablation therapies, and energy harvesting, while deforming with a beating heart.

Achieving a circular system for electronics hinges on greener design and effective recycling methods. Now, research presents a more durable printed circuit board that can also be sustainably and effectively recycled.

A wireless electronic capsule — which is engineered for ingestion and has a sensing ribbon that conforms to the shape of the stomach — can provide non-invasive and long-term tracking of gastric electrophysiological signals.

A biocompatible and biodegradable mesostructured form of silicon is used to make lipid-bilayer-supported bioelectric interfaces that can optically modulate the electrophysiology of single dorsal root ganglia neurons.

Intracellular, intercellular and extracellular silicon interfaces enable light-controlled non-genetic modulation of intracellular calcium dynamics, of cellular excitability, of neurotransmitter release from brain slices, and of brain activity in vivo.

The wireless and photoelectrochemical stimulation of primary rat dorsal root ganglion neurons is demonstrated by shining laser light onto coaxially doped silicon nanowires deposited on the neuronal membrane.

Minerals are rarely explored as building blocks for dynamic inorganic materials. Here, the authors derive inspiration from fish scales to create mutable surfaces based on arrays of calcite crystals, in which one end of each crystal is immobilized in and regenerated from silicone, and the other functional end is left exposed.

Meta-electrodes, lasing and optoacoustic poration achieve network-wide intracellular recording.

Three-dimensional nanowire transistors with curvilinear tips record intracellular signals from neurons.

Parallel patterning of atoms over a large surface would represent a major advance over current serial methods of single atom manipulation. Here, the authors explore a periodic instability from liquid alloy droplets for high-throughput atom printing.

Smartphone-controlled optofluidic neural implants with replaceable and replenishable plug-like drug cartridges enable the selective wireless manipulation of brain circuits in rodents via chronic pharmacology and photostimulation.

High spatiotemporal resolution is essential for next-generation bioelectronics, enabling precise biological monitoring and control. This Review highlights recent advances in electrical, electrochemical and optoelectronic devices, discussing key materials, architectures and strategies to enhance resolution and address critical biomedical challenges.

Electroceuticals apply electrical or electrochemical signals to regulate physiological functions. This Review explores (photo)electrochemical modulation in implantable electroceuticals, highlighting energy conversion principles and device designs for the remote control of biological systems.

This Review highlights the progress made so far in engineering nanomaterials for neurotechnology applications, from neuron signal sensing and modulation to brain stimulation, with an outlook on what these technologies can enable in the future.

This protocol describes how to fabricate and apply silicon-based structures for optically controlled neuromodulation. The structures can be used for nongenetic neuronal excitation in cultured neurons, brain slices, and in vivo applications.

Inorganic semiconductor devices enable the formation of functional interfaces with cells and tissues to detect or provide physical stimuli. In this Review, inorganic semiconductor materials are discussed for electronic and optoelectronic sensing, optoelectronic and photothermal stimulation and photoluminescent in vivo imaging.