CNT Implantat

Active microelectrode implants have been developed for diagnosis, therapy, rehabilitation and monitoring of disorders of the central nervous system, e.g. epilepsy or stroke, and some of them are already in use. Of diagnostic and therapeutic relevance is not only the detection of brain activity and electrical stimulation of cerebral structures, but also the detection of biochemical quantities ("brain chemistry"). From a clinical point of view a permanent implantation of the microelectrodes is desirable.
However, the production of a microelectrode implant with electrodes suitable for all purposes that have the required long-term stability is a problem that has not yet been satisfactorily solved. A new solution approach is being pursued in the joint project CNT Implant: the development of carbon nanotube electrodes (carbon nanotube, CNT for short: carbon nanotube) on flexible polymer substrates.
Due to its biocompatibility and chemical inertness, carbon is ideally suited for biomedical long-term applications and CNTs are a promising alternative to conventional metal electrodes.
The research project aims at the tailor-made synthesis of CNTs with directed growth. Special attention is paid to process development for synthesis at low temperatures due to the temperature sensitivity of the polyimide substrates. In the routine processes of CNT synthesis, deposition temperatures above 600°C are common. In the CNT implant project, deposition temperatures < of 350°C are achieved.