Photo–cross-linkable, insulating silk fibroin for bioelectronics with enhanced cell affinity

Significance Recent advances in bioelectronics have opened avenues toward hybrid engineered tissues with embedded devices that could monitor, modulate, or otherwise augment cellular function. In order to achieve these “cyborgs,” however, both devices and electronic interconnects must stably integrate with the surrounding tissue. We investigated a photo–cross-linkable silk fibroin (PSF) derivative that could be selectively cross-linked using conventional photolithography. We found that PSF was an ideal candidate for bioelectronic scaffolds: it was electrically insulating and so could passivate electronic interconnects, presented amenable surface chemistry to promote cellular adhesion, and could be realized as freestanding, three-dimensional constructs. PSF-based scaffolds are compatible with a wide variety of devices and tissues, and so could enable new classes of hybrid systems.