Injectable Antifouling Adhesive Hydrogel Enables Robust Neural Interfaces for Stable ECoG Recording

Summary Researchers propose an injectable, in-situ-gelling multifunctional hydrogel to address the failure modes of micro-ECoG cortical recording — dural barrier disruption, cortical micromotion that weakens device-tissue coupling, and biofouling that triggers a foreign-body response. Combining dopamine-grafted sodium alginate with branched polyethyleneimine, the hydrogel forms a quasi-zwitterionic network that resists nonspecific protein adsorption and provides catechol-mediated wet adhesion, gelling rapidly under surgical-compatible conditions through dual macromolecular crosslinking without diffusible small-molecule monomers. Integrated with a 128-channel flexible micro-ECoG mesh array, the platform reduced glial activation and fibrotic encapsulation and preserved stable, high-fidelity cortical recording over the 3-week early chronic period. The authors say co-designing barrier repair, interface adhesion and antifouling in a single material can improve long-term function.