• Hearing loss
• Films
• Yarns
• Electrospinning
• Cerium Oxide
• Lithium Niobate
• Aligned fibers
• Biofouling
• Piezoelectric materials
• PVDF-TrFE
• Nanoparticles

To date, sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) affects millions of people worldwide and is a growing concern with increasing lifespans. To treat SNHL, several approaches like gene therapies, stem cell-based treatments and chemical drugs are being investigated, but nowadays the only successful therapeutic option for patients still relies on the use of cochlear implants (CIs). This high-tech electronic implant replaces the entire cochlear function and involves a complex surgery of the temporal bone. Beasides the invasive surgery, bacteria adhesion and proliferation on surfaces and the subsequent biofilm formation, remain also one of the main challenges in this treatment.
Piezoelectric materials have catalysed increasing attention in biomedicine, especially for their biocompatibility, flexibility and the possibility of stimulating the auditory neurons and thus mimicking the cochlear sensory epithelium.
This work reports the production of different piezoelectric ultrafine fibers via electrospinning and examines how the topography of the fibers or the addition of nanoparticles influenced the antifouling properties. Finally, with the experience and information acquired, a conjugated set-up is presented for the fabrication of composite yarns, showing promising features to be used in new cochlear devices.