BioConductor: A Self-Routing Biological Wire Platform for Neural Electrode–Tissue Interfacing

Neural electrode interfaces face a persistent engineering barrier: rigid, foreign-body conductive materials can trigger glial scarring, signal degradation, and immune rejection over time. This paper proposes BioConductor, a programmable biological delivery and intervention platform that uses a slime mold-inspired organism, Physarum polycephalum, as a self-routing biological conductor for neural electrode–tissue interfacing. Physarum is a biological network optimizer capable of forming efficient pathways toward nutrient sources. BioConductor proposes adapting this self-routing behavior into a living biological scaffold capable of navigating toward specific neural or tumor targets. Four core engineering problems are identified: selective chemotaxis, conductivity, biocontainment, and immune evasion. Potential applications discussed include Parkinson's disease, glioblastoma, pancreatic cancer, ALS, and Alzheimer's disease. This work is an early-stage theoretical engineering concept intended for critique, iteration, and collaboration within the synthetic biology and bioengineering research community. No wet-lab validation has been performed, and the work is not a clinical or FDA-reviewed proposal.