Study on the biocompatibility of Ga-based and Al-assisted self-driven liquid metals in cell and animal experiments for drug delivery

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

With inherent flexibility, high electroconductivity, excellent thermal conductivity, easy printability and biosafety, Ga-based functional liquid metals (LMs) have been extensively evaluated for biomedical applications. When implanted in the biological environment, the safety of the LMs is a major concern for future application.

METHODS:

In this study, we conducted several biocompatibility assessments through immersion experiments, in vitro cytotoxicity experiments and in vivo embedding experiments.

RESULTS:

The results showed that both the Al-assisted self-driven LM and the LM per se own good biocompatibility and retrievable properties when contacted with living organisms for a relatively long period of time.

CONCLUSION:

This study provides preliminary evidence about the biocompatibility of the functional LM materials, such as LM-based soft machine, which would promote and inspire other research to address other tough biomedical issues.