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Novel organic electrically conductive organic fibers (ECFs) have been fabricated using a facile, economical and scalable technique by staining nonconductive fibers (both natural and synthetic) with a conductive ink composed of two intrinsically conductive materials, i.e., single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and regioregular poly­(3-hexylthiophene) (rr-P3HT). These organic ECFs exhibit low resistance of 0.50 kΩ cm–1 with a conductive ink composed of 0.8 mg/mL of SWCNTs and 1.6 mg/mL of P3HT while maintaining the mechanical properties of the original fibers. These organic ECFs were characterized by resistance measurements, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and stress–strain measurements. Finally, the recording properties of the organic ECFs were examined by both electromyography and electrocardiography in terms of the signal-to-noise ratio, which was found to be similar and/or exceeded the data obtained by standard metal electrodes.

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Advancements in electrode technologies to both stimulate and record the central nervous system’s electrical activities are enabling significant improvements in both the understanding and treatment of different neurological diseases. However, the current neural recording and stimulating electrodes are metallic, requiring invasive and damaging methods to interface with neural tissue. These electrodes may also degrade, resulting in additional invasive procedures. Furthermore, metal electrodes may cause nerve damage due to their inherent rigidity. This paper demonstrates that novel electrically conductive organic fibers (ECFs) can be used for direct nerve stimulation. The ECFs were prepared using a standard polyester material as the structural base, with a carbon nanotube ink applied to the surface as the electrical conductor. We report on three experiments: the first one to characterize the conductive properties of the ECFs; the second one to investigate the fiber cytotoxic properties in vitro; and the third one to demonstrate the utility of the ECF for direct nerve stimulation in an in vivo rodent model.

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