Artificial synapses that release neurotransmitters aim to go beyond electrical stimulation

Neurological disorders often involve synaptic dysfunction and imbalances in neurotransmitter signalling, but the two main ways of intervening—systemic drugs and implanted electrodes—both fall short in important ways.

Conventional pharmacological treatment lacks spatiotemporal precision, meaning drugs act everywhere in the body and at all times rather than at a chosen synapse at a chosen moment. Traditional electrical stimulation, meanwhile, is limited by chronic gliosis—the scarring response that progressively insulates implanted electrodes—and by its reliance on intact synaptic machinery, which is exactly what many diseases damage. An artificial synapse is designed to sidestep both limits by delivering the actual chemical messenger, mimicking what a healthy neuron would release.

The review surveys the engineering landscape behind this idea. Current designs range from stimulus-responsive nanocarriers that release cargo on demand, through microfluidic platforms that channel fluids at small scales, to advanced organic electronic ion pumps that translate electronic signals into ion flow, and closed-loop neuromorphic architectures that sense and respond in real time. These are described as significant engineering milestones, and the perspective presents them as a conceptual framework for the field rather than as devices already in clinical use.

That distinction matters, because the authors are blunt about what still stands between the laboratory and the operating theatre. Mechanical implantation trauma remains a challenge, since inserting any device into dense neural tissue damages it. Off-target diffusion is another: a neurotransmitter released at a target site can spread to neighbouring circuits in dense tissue, blurring the very precision the device is meant to provide. And every design so far carries a finite neurotransmitter reservoir, which raises the practical question of refilling; the authors discuss subcutaneous refill ports as a pragmatic transitional solution.

Looking further ahead, the perspective examines the feasibility and what it calls the profound immunological risks of future in situ neurotransmitter synthesis—having the implant manufacture its own chemical supply inside the body. The central message is that bridging the gap between materials science and neurosurgical reality is essential if next-generation adaptive biohybrid interfaces are ever to reach patients.

Subject of Research: Neurotransmitter-mediated artificial synapses as an alternative to electrical neural stimulation

Article Title: Beyond electrical stimulation: toward neurotransmitter-mediated synaptic prostheses

Article References: Faber, P., & Krukiewicz, K. (2026). Beyond electrical stimulation: toward neurotransmitter-mediated synaptic prostheses. Biomedical Materials Science, 1(1), Article 10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s44495-026-00010-5

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s44495-026-00010-5

Keywords: artificial synapses, neurotransmitters, synaptic prostheses, bioelectronics, electrical stimulation, neural interfaces, organic electronic ion pumps, microfluidics, neuromorphic devices, gliosis, drug delivery, neurosurgery