Institute for Cardiovascular Science & Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital, Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215000, China.
Neurobiology Sector, International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), via Bonomea 265, Trieste 34136, Italy.
Nanoscale. 2022 Aug 4;14(30):10992-11002. doi: 10.1039/d2nr01542k.
Neural interfaces enable the monitoring of the state of the brain and its composite cell networks, as well as stimulate them to treat nervous disorders. In addition to their highly efficient charge transduction and stability during operation, the neural electrodes should avoid altering the physiological properties of targeted neuronal tissues. Two-dimensional (2D) MXene materials integrate the advantages of metallic conductivity, high specific-surface area and surface functionality in aqueous dispersions, showing promising potential in neural interface applications. Here, we apply uncoated TiCT MXene to interface neuronal development. The impacts of the uncoated TiCT MXene interface on neuronal development and neuronal microcircuit activity were tested for the first time. Compared to the standard neuronal culture with a poly-L-ornithine coated coverslip, uncoated TiCT MXene surfaces did not affect the cell morphology, density, neuron ratios, maturation or the compositions of the neuronal network. Moreover, calcium imaging, spontaneous postsynaptic currents (sPSCs) and also miniature postsynaptic currents (mPSCs) were recorded to demonstrate that TiCT MXene interfaces preserved the basal physiology of neuronal activity. The ability to interface neuronal circuit development without altering neuronal signaling properties enables the construction of MXene-based neural prosthetic devices for neuroscience research, diagnosis, and therapies.
神经接口能够监测大脑及其复合细胞网络的状态，并对其进行刺激以治疗神经紊乱。除了在操作过程中具有高效的电荷转导和稳定性外，神经电极还应避免改变目标神经元组织的生理特性。二维（2D）MXene 材料集成了金属导电性、高比表面积和表面功能的优点，在神经接口应用中显示出有前途的潜力。在这里，我们应用未经涂层的 TiCT MXene 来实现神经元发育的接口。未经涂层的 TiCT MXene 界面对神经元发育和神经元微电路活动的影响首次得到了测试。与用聚-L-鸟氨酸涂覆盖玻片的标准神经元培养物相比，未经涂层的 TiCT MXene 表面不影响细胞形态、密度、神经元比例、成熟度或神经元网络的组成。此外，钙成像、自发突触后电流（sPSCs）和微小突触后电流（mPSCs）的记录也表明 TiCT MXene 界面保留了神经元活动的基础生理学特性。无需改变神经元信号特性即可实现神经元电路发育接口的能力，为神经科学研究、诊断和治疗构建基于 MXene 的神经修复装置。
