The stretchable and active multielectrode array successfully measured electrocardiography of rat during blood exposure.

Polymeric biomaterials have significant impact in the aged society. Biocompatible and biodegradable polymers have emerged during the past decades to promise extraordinary breakthroughs in a wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic medical devices. Understanding and controlling the interfacial interactions of the polymeric biomaterials with biological elements, such as water, ions, proteins, bacteria, fungai and cells, are essential toward their successful implementation in biomedical applications. Here we highlight the recent developments of biocompatible and biodegradable fusion polymeric biomaterials for medical devices and provide an overview of the recent progress of the design of the multi-functional biomedical polymers by controlling bio-interfacial water structure through precision polymer synthesis and supramolecular chemistry.

When biomaterials come into contact with biological fluids, water molecules immediately adsorb onto the surface of the materials. To understand the origin of the crucial roles of water molecules in biological interfaces, it is necessary to relate particular states of hydration water to various physicochemical properties of hydrated polymers. Here, advances in the intermediate water concept are reviewed. This account provides an overview of the progress made in the design of multi-functional biomedical polymers by controlling the bio-interfacial water states. Using principles of intermediate water, which is common in hydrated biopolymers and only biocompatible synthetic polymers, we found the synthetic methodology to create novel biocompatible polymers moves toward a more high-throughput way.