A bioactive chitosan-based memristive platform for rapid assessment of chronic endometritis

Chronic endometritis (CE) is a persistent inflammatory disorder that impairs endometrial receptivity and is closely associated with infertility, recurrent implantation failure, and recurrent pregnancy loss. Current diagnostic approaches rely mainly on histopathological evaluation of endometrial biopsy specimens, which is invasive, time-consuming, and susceptible to sampling bias, thereby limiting timely and objective clinical assessment. Herein, we report a biocompatible chitosan (CS)-based memristive sensing platform for rapid electrical evaluation of CE-associated inflammatory microenvironments. The device adopts an Al/CS/FTO architecture, in which the protonated CS functional layer serves as both an electrically active switching medium and a bioactive interfacial layer capable of interacting with inflammation-associated biomolecules. Exposure to CE-derived endometrial supernatants produces distinct resistive-switching responses, enabling clear differentiation from normal samples. Pathological and molecular analyses showed that IL-1β was significantly elevated in CE tissues. Purified IL-1β induced concentration-dependent modulation of device behavior and produced the strongest response among the purified mediators examined. Comparative mediator experiments further demonstrated measurable responses to other inflammation-associated cytokines, supporting an integrated electrical response to the complex inflammatory milieu of CE. Mechanistically, the sensing behavior can be understood as the coupling of charge-dependent interactions between the protonated CS interface and inflammation-associated biomolecules with modulation of proton transport and conductive-filament dynamics within the active layer. Furthermore, in vitro cytocompatibility and short-term in vivo implantation studies indicate favorable preliminary biosafety of the CS-based material system, highlighting its potential as a biocompatible interface for future localized reproductive bioelectronic sensing. Therefore, this work establishes a bioactive electronic interface that couple inflammation-associated interfacial modulation with memristive sensing, offering a promising strategy for rapid ex vivo assessment of uterine inflammatory status and advancing intelligent diagnostics in reproductive medicine.