@article{Li2026, 
author = {Zhuoqun Li and Shenshen Lei and Quanpeng Li and Fulai Lin and Jian Lv and Yonghui Gong and Zhuomin Ping and Chengjiang Wang and Yuchen Cheng and Wenna Liu and Dingming Zhong and Yutang Li and Yuhao Wang and Feng Ma and Aihua Shi and Xiaoliang Chen and Chuncai Kong and Bai Sun and Sihai Luo and Jie Tao and Rongqian Wu and Hao Sun and Zheng Wu and Shuixiang He and Bowen Ji and Xinge Yu and Jinyou Shao and Fenggang Ren and Yi Lyu},
title = {Uniform and Complete Irreversible Electroporation on Gastric Mucosa Enabled by Sintered Silver Hydrogel},
year = {2026},
journal = {Cyborg and Bionic Systems},
volume = {7},
pages = {0697},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.34133/cbsystems.0697},
doi = {10.34133/cbsystems.0697},
abstract = {Irreversible electroporation is a promising nonthermal ablation for gastric mucosa, but nonconformal contact between the electrode and the rough surface of the gastric mucosa causes an inhomogeneous distribution of the high-voltage electric field. Here, we enhanced gap filling and substantially reduced distortion of the delivered high-voltage electric field by fabricating a soft, highly conductive sintered silver hydrogel as the bioelectronic tissue interface, thereby achieving uniform and complete irreversible electroporation. The sintering reaction was initiated by Cl− and H+, which can work synergistically to partially eliminate the insulating surfactant on silver flakes, facilitating a sintering reaction through the dynamic redeposition of silver nanoparticles on silver flakes. Via a room-temperature sintering process, the conductivity of the hydrogel was promoted from below 1 to >104 S/m at a low silver flake loading (4 vol%), and the mechanical property was still kept at a low Young’s modulus (91 kPa), even after swelling from digestive juices. In vitro experiments demonstrated that ablation uniformity improved by up to 86%, with the ablation area increasing by 30% to 52% and a maximum depth of 5.39 mm. Preclinical validation using porcine models demonstrated uniform, complete gastric mucosal ablation, reaching a depth of 2.50 mm, extending through the muscularis mucosae and leaving no residual cells. This sintered silver hydrogel-enhanced irreversible electroporation addresses key challenges and reinforces its potential as a reliable, advanced treatment for gastrointestinal lesions.}
}