Chen Nuan, Luo Baiwen, Patil Anoop C, Wang Jiahui, Gammad Gil Gerald Lasam, Yi Zhigao, Liu Xiaogang, Yen Shih-Cheng, Ramakrishna Seeram, Thakor Nitish V
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117575, Singapore.
SINAPSE Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117456, Singapore.
ACS Nano. 2020 Jul 28;14(7):8059-8073. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.0c00672. Epub 2020 Jun 24.
Neural electrodes are developed for direct communication with neural tissues for theranostics. Although various strategies have been employed to improve performance, creating an intimate electrode-tissue interface with high electrical fidelity remains a great challenge. Here, we report the rational design of a tunnel-like electrode coating comprising poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for highly sensitive neural recording. The coated electrode shows a 50-fold reduction in electrochemical impedance at the biologically relevant frequency of 1 kHz, compared to the bare gold electrode. The incorporation of CNT significantly reinforces the nanotunnel structure and improves coating adhesion by ∼1.5 fold. primary neuron culture confirms an intimate contact between neurons and the PEDOT-CNT nanotunnel. During acute nerve recording, the coated electrode enables the capture of high-fidelity neural signals with low susceptibility to electrical noise and reveals the potential for precisely decoding sensory information through mechanical and thermal stimulation. These findings indicate that the PEDOT-CNT nanotunnel composite serves as an active interfacing material for neural electrodes, contributing to neural prosthesis and brain-machine interface.
神经电极被开发用于与神经组织进行直接通信以实现治疗诊断。尽管已经采用了各种策略来提高性能，但创建具有高电保真度的紧密电极 - 组织界面仍然是一个巨大的挑战。在这里，我们报告了一种由聚（3,4 - 乙撑二氧噻吩）（PEDOT）和碳纳米管（CNT）组成的隧道状电极涂层的合理设计，用于高灵敏度神经记录。与裸金电极相比，涂覆电极在1 kHz的生物相关频率下电化学阻抗降低了50倍。碳纳米管的加入显著增强了纳米隧道结构，并使涂层附着力提高了约1.5倍。原代神经元培养证实了神经元与PEDOT - CNT纳米隧道之间的紧密接触。在急性神经记录期间，涂覆电极能够捕获对电噪声低敏感性的高保真神经信号，并揭示了通过机械和热刺激精确解码感觉信息的潜力。这些发现表明，PEDOT - CNT纳米隧道复合材料作为神经电极的活性界面材料，有助于神经假体和脑机接口。
