Search for: All records

Electronic devicesforrecording neuralactivityinthe nervoussyste m needto bescalableacrosslargespatialandte mporalscales whilealso providing millisecondandsingle-cellspatiote mporalresolution. H o w e v e r, e xi s ti n g hi g h- r e s ol u ti o n n e u r al r e c o r di n g d e vi c e s c a n n o t achievesi multaneousscalability on bothspatialandte mporallevels due toatrade-offbetweensensordensityand mechanicalflexibility. Here weintroduceathree-di mensional(3D)stackingi mplantableelectronic platfor m,basedonperfluorinateddielectricelasto mersandtissue-levelsoft multilayerelectrodes,thatenablesspatiote mporallyscalablesingle-cell neuralelectrophysiologyinthenervoussyste m. Ourelasto mersexhibit stable dielectric perfor mancefor overayearin physiologicalsolutions andare10,000ti messofterthanconventional plastic dielectrics. By leveragingthese uniquecharacteristics we developthe packaging of lithographednano metre-thickelectrodearraysina3Dconfiguration with across-sectionaldensityof7.6electrodesper100μ m2.Theresulting3D integrated multilayersoftelectrodearrayretainstissue-levelflexibility, reducingchronici m muneresponsesin mouse neuraltissues,and de monstratestheabilitytoreliablytrackelectricalactivityinthe mouse brain orspinalcord over months without disruptingani mal behaviour. 

Ionic conductivity and membrane capacitance are two foundational parameters that govern neuron excitability. Conventional optogenetics has emerged as a powerful tool to temporarily manipulate membrane ionic conductivity in intact biological systems. However, no analogous method exists for precisely manipulating cell membrane capacitance to enable long-lasting modulation of neuronal excitability. Genetically targetable chemical assembly of conductive and insulating polymers can modulate cell membrane capacitance, but further development of this technique has been hindered by poor spatiotemporal control of the polymer deposition and cytotoxicity from the widely diffused peroxide. We address these issues by harnessing genetically targetable photosensitizer proteins to assemble electrically functional polymers in neurons with precise spatiotemporal control. Using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings, we demonstrate that this optogenetic polymerization can achieve stepwise modulation of both neuron membrane capacitance and intrinsic excitability. Furthermore, cytotoxicity can be limited by controlling light exposure, demonstrating a promising new method for precisely modulating cell excitability.