Topic: Soft Materials for Next-Generation Biointegrated and Augmented Microsystems

Soft materials are redefining what microsystems can be and where they can operate, especially when devices are intimately integrated with living tissues and dynamic environments. This Special Topic, “Soft Materials for Next-Generation Biointegrated and Augmented Microsystems,” focuses on how polymers, hydrogels, elastomers, liquid metals, and bio-derived materials enable microsystems that are deformable, conformal, and functionally adaptive.

By coupling soft materials with advanced micro/nanofabrication, heterogeneous integration, and system-level design, these microsystems can merge sensing, actuation, and computation into ultrathin, stretchable, and reconfigurable architectures. Contributions spanning materials synthesis, device physics, modeling, manufacturing, reliability, and in vitro or in vivo validation are all welcome. Overall, this special issue aims to leverage soft materials to advance the next generation of augmented microsystems that are miniaturized, intelligent, and comfortable.

We welcome contributions on, but not limited to, the following topics:

● Biointegrated and organ-interfaced microsystems;

● Soft–rigid hybrid electronics and architectures;

● Intelligent human-machine interfaces;

● Scalable soft logic and reconfigurablecomputing devices;

● Flexiblephotonic systems;

● Stretchable and Foldable 3Delectronics;

● Printable, multiscale sensing platforms;

● Closed-loop and untethered soft robots;

● AI-powered soft interfaces.

Soft materials, biointegrated microsystems, stretchable electronics, flexible photonics, soft logic devices, printable multiscale sensors, soft untethered robots, AI-powered soft interfaces, foldable 3D electronics