Wouldn’t it be nice if… our implants weren’t toxic?!
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Unfortunately, some implanted medical devices can release toxic byproducts over time. They’re leached from the piezoelectric materials commonly used to make them.
But fear not! Fanqi Dai, Haofeng Cheng, and Hui Qi – researchers from China – created a new piezoelectric material. It uses biodegradable rochelle salt crystals, with no toxic byproduct!
Results? Rodents with rochelle salt scaffold devices had enhanced nerve regeneration. This material also functioned well in a wireless diagnostic sensor for colon dysfunction.
These medical devices using rochelle-crystal materials have proven to be quite versatile!
Now we can go back to worrying about microplastics and sugar. Phew!
Dai, F., Cheng, H., Qi, H. et al. Rochelle salt-based biodegradable piezoelectric devices for nerve regeneration and intestinal motility monitoring. Nat Commun 17, 2169 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-68930-2