Ultraflexible nanoelectronic probes form reliable, glial scar-free neural integration.
Lan LuanXiaoling WeiZhengtuo ZhaoJennifer J SiegelOjas PotnisCatherine A TuppenShengqing LinShams KazmiRobert A FowlerStewart HollowayAndrew K DunnRaymond A ChitwoodChong XiePublished in: Science advances (2017)
Implanted brain electrodes construct the only means to electrically interface with individual neurons in vivo, but their recording efficacy and biocompatibility pose limitations on scientific and clinical applications. We showed that nanoelectronic thread (NET) electrodes with subcellular dimensions, ultraflexibility, and cellular surgical footprints form reliable, glial scar-free neural integration. We demonstrated that NET electrodes reliably detected and tracked individual units for months; their impedance, noise level, single-unit recording yield, and the signal amplitude remained stable during long-term implantation. In vivo two-photon imaging and postmortem histological analysis revealed seamless, subcellular integration of NET probes with the local cellular and vasculature networks, featuring fully recovered capillaries with an intact blood-brain barrier and complete absence of chronic neuronal degradation and glial scar.
Keyphrases
- blood brain barrier
- cerebral ischemia
- living cells
- neuropathic pain
- reduced graphene oxide
- fluorescence imaging
- small molecule
- resting state
- wound healing
- carbon nanotubes
- solid state
- high resolution
- single molecule
- functional connectivity
- air pollution
- single cell
- subarachnoid hemorrhage
- white matter
- brain injury
- mass spectrometry
- spinal cord injury
- gold nanoparticles
- computed tomography
- tissue engineering
- data analysis