Neural prostheses are crucial for patients with peripheral nerve damage in regaining their motor and sensory functions. Materials used in such prostheses must be biologically compatible, anti-inflammatory, have a slow degradation time, and be mechanically strong. This work studies the degradation of biodegradable photoluminescent polymers + aniline tetramer (BPLP+AT) and poly(1,8-octanediol citrate) + folic acid (POC-FA) as biomaterials that bridge gaps in peripheral nerves. The materials are imaged at different levels of degradation using a novel multimodal imaging probe that shows ultrasound, photoacoustic, and shear wave elastography images. Combined, these images show that an increase in the percentage of AT in BPLP-AT leads to a decrease in the material’s shear modulus. On the contrary, the increase in the percentage of FA in POC-FA leads to an increase in the material’s shear modulus.
Additionally, it was found that an increase in the percent of AT in BPLP decreases the light absorbing properties while an increase in the percent of FA in POC increases the light absorbing properties. Moreover, the longer the material degrades, the less light absorbing it is.
