Bioinspired nervous signal transmission system based on two-dimensional laminar nanofluidics: from electronics to ionics

Yunfei Teng, Pei Liu, Lin Fu, Xiang-Yu Kong, Lei Jiang, Liping Wen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

34 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Mammalian nervous systems, as natural ionic circuitries, stand out in environmental perception and sophisticated information transmission, relying on protein ionic channels and additional necessary structures. Prosperously emerged ionic regulated biomimetic nanochannels exhibit great potentialities in various application scenarios, especially signal transduction. Most reported direct current systems possess deficiencies in informational density and variability, which are superiorities of alternating current (AC) systems and necessities in bioinspired nervous signal transmission. Here, inspired by myelinated saltatory conduction, alternating electrostatic potential controlled nanofluidics are constructed with a noncontact application pattern and MXene nanosheets. Under time-variant external stimuli, ions confined in the interlaminar space obtain the capability of carriers for the AC ionic circuit. The transmitted information is accessible from typical sine to a frequency-modulated binary signal. This work demonstrates the potentiality of the bioinspired nervous signal transmission between electronics and ionic nanofluidics, which might push one step forward to the avenue of AC ionics.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)16743-16748
Number of pages6
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume117
Issue number29
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 21 Jul 2020
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • AC system
  • Biomimetic structures
  • Information transmission
  • Ion transportation
  • Nanofluidics

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