Kang Mijeong, Jung Seungmoon, Zhang Huanan, Kang Taejoon, Kang Hosuk, Yoo Youngdong, Hong Jin-Pyo, Ahn Jae-Pyoung, Kwak Juhyoun, Jeon Daejong, Kotov Nicholas A, Kim Bongsoo
ACS Nano. 2014 Aug 26;8(8):8182-9. doi: 10.1021/nn5024522.
Size reduction of neural electrodes is essential for improving the functionality of neuroprosthetic devices, developing potent therapies for neurological and neurodegenerative diseases, and long-term brain–computer interfaces. Typical neural electrodes are micromanufactured devices with dimensions ranging from tens to hundreds of micrometers. Their further miniaturization is necessary to reduce local tissue damage and chronic immunological reactions of the brain. Here we report the neural electrode with subcellular dimensions based on single-crystalline gold nanowires (NWs) with a diameter of ∼100 nm. Unique mechanical and electrical properties of defect-free gold NWs enabled their implantation and recording of single neuron-activities in a live mouse brain despite a ∼50× reduction of the size compared to the closest analogues. Reduction of electrode dimensions enabled recording of neural activity with improved spatial resolution and differentiation of brain activity in response to different social situations for mice. The successful localization of the epileptic seizure center was also achieved using a multielectrode probe as a demonstration of the diagnostics potential of NW electrodes. This study demonstrated the realism of single-neuron recording using subcellular-sized electrodes that may be considered a pivotal point for use in diverse studies of chronic brain diseases.
神经电极的尺寸缩小对于改善神经假体装置的功能、开发针对神经和神经退行性疾病的有效疗法以及长期脑机接口至关重要。典型的神经电极是通过微制造的装置，尺寸范围从几十到几百微米。进一步将其小型化对于减少局部组织损伤和大脑的慢性免疫反应是必要的。在此，我们报道了基于直径约为100 nm的单晶金纳米线（NWs）的具有亚细胞尺寸的神经电极。无缺陷金纳米线独特的机械和电学特性使其能够植入活小鼠大脑并记录单个神经元的活动，尽管与最接近的类似物相比尺寸减小了约50倍。电极尺寸的减小使得能够以更高的空间分辨率记录神经活动，并区分小鼠在不同社交情境下的大脑活动。使用多电极探针成功定位癫痫发作中心也证明了纳米线电极的诊断潜力。这项研究证明了使用亚细胞尺寸电极进行单神经元记录的可行性，这可能被视为用于各种慢性脑部疾病研究的关键点。
