Biophysics and Physiology Group, Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2014 Apr 9;9(4):e86292. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0086292. eCollection 2014.
In vivo nerve repair requires not only the ability to regenerate damaged axons, but most importantly, the ability to guide developing or regenerating axons along paths that will result in functional connections. Furthermore, basic studies in neuroscience and neuro-electronic interface design require the ability to construct in vitro neural circuitry. Both these applications require the development of a noninvasive, highly effective tool for axonal growth-cone guidance. To date, a myriad of technologies have been introduced based on chemical, electrical, mechanical, and hybrid approaches (such as electro-chemical, optofluidic flow and photo-chemical methods). These methods are either lacking in desired spatial and temporal selectivity or require the introduction of invasive external factors. Within the last fifteen years however, several attractive guidance cues have been developed using purely light based cues to achieve axonal guidance. Here, we report a novel, purely optical repulsive guidance technique that uses low power, near infrared light, and demonstrates the guidance of primary goldfish retinal ganglion cell axons through turns of up to 120 degrees and over distances of ∼90 µm.
在体神经修复不仅需要损伤轴突再生的能力，更重要的是，需要有引导发育或再生轴突沿着能形成功能连接的路径生长的能力。此外，神经科学和神经电子界面设计的基础研究需要构建体外神经网络的能力。这两种应用都需要开发一种非侵入性的、高效的轴突生长锥导向工具。迄今为止，已经有许多基于化学、电气、机械和混合方法（如电化学、光电流和光化学方法）的技术被引入。这些方法要么缺乏所需的空间和时间选择性，要么需要引入侵入性的外部因素。然而，在过去的十五年中，已经开发出了几种有吸引力的导向线索，这些导向线索使用纯光的线索来实现轴突的导向。在这里，我们报告了一种新颖的、纯光学的排斥性导向技术，该技术使用低功率近红外光，并且证明了初级金鱼视网膜神经节细胞轴突通过最多 120 度的转弯和大约 90 µm 的距离的引导。
