Francesca Santoro
The Neapolitan scientist Francesca Santororesearcher at the Forschungszentrum Jülich and lecturer at the RWTH Aachen University, leads a team of scientists who have developed “an ‘organic’ microchip which among its functions reproduces the ability of the retina to ‘transform’ light into electricity”. In practice, the bio chip It imitates the functioning of the human eye and also the memory of the brain.
The study, carried out in collaboration between Italian Institute of Technology, Rwht Aachen University, research center Julich e University of Naples Federico IIwas published in the scientific journal “Nature Communications”.
It works better than silicon
The bio-electronics It is a very promising and cutting-edge field of technology, which could have important developments in the medical and healthcare fields. The organic microchip is based on a semiconductor polymer Made up of organic components, sensitive to light. Compared to its counterparts in siliconthis polymer integrates better with the human body.
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It is not rigid, but flexible, and being organic it can be easily accepted by the human body, compared to other foreign elements. Another difference compared to silicon is that it works with ions and not with electrons. “Our body cells – explained scientist Francesca Santoro to Il Mattino – specifically use ions to control certain processes and exchange information. The material was synthesized and then characterized: we were able to demonstrate that the typical properties of the retina can be mimicked with it.”
The hypothesis: use it against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
The hope is that these polymers may also have other uses in the future, such as, for example, being used to “repair” the damaged nervous system in the case of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, replacing damaged neurons.