Electronic hair: Transforming hair into a scalable bioelectronic interface
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: In electroencephalography, hair remains a major barrier to electrode-skin contact, limiting signal quality. Here, we introduce electronic hair (eHAIR), a strategy that converts hair into a bioelectronic interface using mixed ionic-electronic conductive polymer dyes. Hair, a keratinized filament anchored within the skin, provides a stable and naturally distributed platform for interfacing. Two complementary approaches based on polythiophene derivatives enable rapid, washable functionalization of hair bundles or semipermanent coating of individual strands. The resulting eHAIR forms conformal, low-impedance interfaces that support electrophysiological recordings with increased signal amplitude and spectral power while preserving the underlying neural dynamics without gels or rigid hardware. Beyond passive sensing, eHAIR-based organic electrochemical transistors enable local signal amplification, with gain defined by hair geometry. By repurposing hair as an active bioelectronic interface, eHAIR establishes a wearable and biointegrated platform that can be implemented from individual hairs to larger hair-covered regions.
Source: Science Advances
Authors: Shweta Shweta, Malamati Giompliaki, Linta Sohail, Rémy Cornuéjols, Preston D. Donaldson, Tobias Abrahamsson, Dina KC, Maria Ntzouni, Sıla Yıldız Cengiz, Sofia Drakopoulou, Mary J. Donahue, Maria Seitanidou, Zifang Zhao, Daniel T. Simon, Magnus Berggren, Sarah Mclntyre, Robrecht Raedt, Xenofon Strakosas, George D. Spyropoulos
Institutions: Ghent University, Linköping University, Cornell University
Language: English
Subfield: Polymers and Plastics
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $4,500
OpenAlex ID: W7225773170