title: The chemistry of cyborgs--interfacing technical devices with organisms.
abstract: The term "cyborg" refers to a cybernetic organism, which characterizes the chimera of a living organism and a machine. Owing to the widespread application of intracorporeal medical devices, cyborgs are no longer exclusively a subject of science fiction novels, but technically they already exist in our society. In this review, we briefly summarize the development of modern prosthetics and the evolution of brain-machine interfaces, and discuss the latest technical developments of implantable devices, in particular, biocompatible integrated electronics and microfluidics used for communication and control of living organisms. Recent examples of animal cyborgs and their relevance to fundamental and applied biomedical research and bioethics in this novel and exciting field at the crossroads of chemistry, biomedicine, and the engineering sciences are presented.
authors.affiliation: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute for Biological Interfaces (IBG-1), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen (Germany).
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Giselbrecht
authors.forename: Bastian E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Rapp
authors.forename: Christof M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Niemeyer
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D062207:Brain-Computer Interfaces; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D004581:Electronics; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials
keywords: biocompatible materials; brain-machine interface; flexible electronics; implants; robotics