Preliminary study of multichannel flexible neural probes coated with hybrid biodegradable polymer.

Two types of intracortical multichannel flexible neural probes coated with a hybrid biodegradable polymer were designed and fabricated. The hybrid biodegradable polymer was made of polyethylene glycol and biodegradable polymeric microspheres containing nerve growth factor (NGF) and incorporated to improve the stiffness for flexible neural probe insertion, and promote regrowth of damaged neural tissues around the probe. The type-A neural probe has a groove structure designed to be seeded with a large amount of the hybrid biodegradable polymer. The type-B neural probe has a unique configuration like skeleton to minimize the volume of the flexible probe and buffer injurious micromotion between the probe and the tissues after implantation. In this preliminary study, the efficacy of the released NGF from the microspheres with the PC12 cells was examined. Further, neural probe implantation and neural signal recording with an acute experiment were studied.