What question did this study set out to answer?

To develop a method for producing flexible, conductive electrodes using collagen and silver nanoparticles that balance electrical and biological performance.

February 9, 2026Open Access

Aerosol jet co-printing for flexible and conductive protein–metal electrodes

Key Points

To develop a method for producing flexible, conductive electrodes using collagen and silver nanoparticles that balance electrical and biological performance.
Used aerosol jet co-printing to simultaneously deposit collagen and silver nanoparticle inks.
Conducted low-temperature curing at 150 °C for under 5 minutes.
Conducted cell culture studies to assess cytotoxicity with varying collagen content.
Achieved resistivity as low as ≈10−6 Ωm.
Maintain conductivity under mechanical flexure for durability.
Reduced cytotoxicity observed at higher collagen content, optimizing the balance between electrical and biological properties.

Abstract

We report a rapid, single-step aerosol jet co-printing method for flexible, conductive collagen–silver electrodes. By simultaneously depositing collagen and silver nanoparticle inks, we achieve tunable conductivity and biocompatibility using short (5 min) low-temperature (150 °C) curing. The resulting composites exhibit resistivity as low as ≈10−6 Ωm, maintain conductivity under mechanical flexure, and preserve partial protein structure for up to 3 weeks in physiological media. Cell culture studies confirm reduced cytotoxicity at high collagen content, defining a processing window that balances electrical and biological performance. These findings demonstrate that aerosol jet printing co-printing offers a scalable and versatile fabrication strategy for next-generation flexible bioelectronic devices, with electrical and biological performance that can be tuned through material composition and processing parameters.

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