Seamless integration between biological systems and electrical
components is essential for enabling a twinned biochemical–electrical
recording and therapy approach to understand and combat neurological
disorders. Employing bioelectronic systems made up of conjugated polymers,
which have an innate ability to transport both electronic and ionic
charges, provides the possibility of such integration. In particular,
translating enzymatically polymerized conductive wires, recently demonstrated
in plants and simple organism systems, into mammalian models, is of
particular interest for the development of next-generation devices
that can monitor and modulate neural signals. As a first step toward
achieving this goal, enzyme-mediated polymerization of two thiophene-based
monomers is demonstrated on a synthetic lipid bilayer supported on
a Au surface. Microgravimetric studies of conducting films polymerized
in situ provide insights into their interactions with a lipid bilayer
model that mimics the cell membrane. Moreover, the resulting electrical
and viscoelastic properties of these self-organizing conducting polymers
suggest their potential as materials to form the basis for novel approaches
to in vivo neural therapeutics.