Flexible and stretchable nanowire-coated fibers for optoelectronic probing of spinal cord circuits

Lu, Chi; Park, Seongjun; Richner, Thomas J.; Derry, Alexander; Brown, Imogen; Hou, Chong; Rao, Siyuan; Kang, Jeewoo; Mortiz, Chet T.; Fink, Yoel; Anikeeva, Polina

doi:10.1126/sciadv.1600955

Cited by 193 publications

(208 citation statements)

References 50 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

190

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These values are comparable to those previously obtained in thermally drawn polymer fibers [1.2-2.7 dB/cm]. [27][28][29][30] This makes our device suitable for controlling photoswitchable ligands with light across the visible spectrum. 22 Due to the absorbance of PC used as the waveguide core in the UV-A range, the optical loss at 365 nm was 2.03±0.15 dB/cm.…”

Section: Developing a Multifunctional Fiber For In Vivo Photopharmacosupporting

confidence: 87%

In vivophotopharmacology enabled by multifunctional fibers

Frank

Antonini

Chiang

et al. 2020

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

To reversibly manipulate neural circuits with increased spatial and temporal control, photoswitchable ligands can add an optical switch to a target receptor or signaling cascade. This approach, termed photopharmacology, has been enabling to molecular neuroscience, however, its application to behavioral experiments has been impeded by a lack of integrated hardware capable of delivering both light and compounds to deep brain regions in moving subjects. Here, we devise a hybrid photochemical genetic approach to target neurons using a photoswitchable agonist of capsaicin receptor (TRPV1), red-AzCA-4. Using the thermal drawing process we created multifunctional fibers that can deliver viruses, photoswitchable ligands, and light to deep brain regions in awake, freely moving mice. We implanted our fibers into the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a midbrain hub of the mesolimbic pathway, and used them to deliver a transgene coding for TRPV1. This sensitized excitatory VTA neurons to red-AzCA-4, and allowed us to optically control conditioned place preference using a mammalian ion-channel, thus extending applications of photopharmacology to behavioral experiments. Applied to endogenous receptors, our approach may accelerate studies of molecular mechanisms underlying animal behavior. AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS JAF and PA conceived and coordinated the study. DBK synthesized the photoswitchable compounds. JAF and GR carried out imaging experiments in cultured neurons. JAF, MJA, and IG fabricated and characterized the multifunctional fibers. YF aided in fiber design. PC and FK produced lentiviral vectors. JAF, MJA, PC, AC, and IG performed immunohistochemical experiments. JAF and MJA performed the behavioral experiments. PC, AC, MJA, and JAF wrote scripts for data analysis. JAF, MJA, and PA wrote the manuscript with input from all co-authors.

show abstract

Section: Developing a Multifunctional Fiber For In Vivo Photopharmacosupporting

confidence: 87%

In vivophotopharmacology enabled by multifunctional fibers

Frank

Antonini

Chiang

et al. 2020

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In addition, optically or thermally triggered biodegradable materials can be applied as cladding or core materials in fibers, which maintain their optical properties during in vivo operation and provide a rapid and controllable degradation after use. Considering diverse and multifunctional demands in biomedical fields, advanced fiber architectures can be designed and fabricated by combining conductive wires for electrical recording and hollow channels for drug delivery . Besides fluorescence photometry and optogenetic stimulation, other applications including laser surgery and phototherapy can also be exploited.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implantable and Biodegradable Poly(l‐lactic acid) Fibers for Optical Neural Interfaces

Luo

Nazempour

et al. 2017

Advanced Optical Materials

109

142

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

represent inferior compatibility with biological systems (especially soft brain tissues) due to their high stiffness and long-time stability, which lead to deleterious effects like tissue damage, inflammation, and rejection. [4] Flexible and stretchable polymeric fibers with designed microstructures are explored for neurological studies, enabling integrated electrical sensing, optical stimulation, and controlled microfluidic delivery. [5] In medical practice, biodegradable organic and inorganic materials including metals, semiconductors, and polymers have been exploited to form biological structures (drugs, stents, scaffolds, etc.) [6] and functional devices (electrical, optical, mechanical, and thermal sensors). [7] In comparison to devices and systems made of inert materials, these biodegradable implants that can physically disappear in biological tissues to eliminate the risk associated with further retraction or removal, providing enormous potential to biomedical applications and particularly clinical uses. Recently, waveguides and photonic structures based on biodegradable materials like ceramics (e.g., calcium phosphates), [8] synthetic polymers, [9] hydrogels, [10] and even bioderived materials (e.g., silks) [11] are investigated in both in vitro and in vivo studies. So far, these biodegradable photonic materials and structures have not been utilized as implantable fibers to study deep-brain neural activities. Here, we present poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA)-based optical fibers as a biodegradable Advanced optical fibers and photonic structures play important roles in neuroscience research, along with recent progresses of genetically encoded optical actuators and indicators. Most techniques for optical neural implants rely on fused silica or long-lasting polymeric fiber structures. In this paper, implantable and biodegradable optical fibers based on poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) are presented. PLLA fibers with dimensions similar to standard silica fibers are constructed using a simple thermal drawing process at around 220 °C. The formed PLLA fibers exhibit high mechanical flexibility and optical transparency, and their structural evolution and optical property changes are systematically studied during in vitro degradation. In addition, their biocompatibility with brain tissues is evaluated in living mice, and full in vivo degradation is demonstrated. Finally, PLLA fibers are implemented as a tool for intracranial light delivery and detection, realizing deep brain fluorescence sensing and optogenetic interrogation in vivo. The presented materials and device platform offer paths to fully biocompatible and bioresorbable photonic systems for biomedical uses. Biodegradable Fibers

show abstract

“…k) Spontaneous activity recorded in acute conditions with AgNW concentric mesh electrodes deposited onto flexible PC/COC core fibers (top) and stretchable COCE core fibers (bottom) in spinal cord of wild‐type mice. Reproduced under the terms of the Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 License 171. Copyright 2017, the Authors.…”

Section: Injectable Systems For the Spinal Cordmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Owing to the site‐specific neural activity modulation capability using electrical stimulation or drug treatment, the vertical probes have been used as diagnosis techniques to determine the specific cause of the spinal pain before surgeries, such as selective nerve root block for failed back surgery syndrome 168,169. Novel approaches to create multifunctional injectable probes using thermal drawing of polymer fibers have been reported for recording and stimulating the spinal cord 170,171. The fiber‐based probe consisted of silver nanowire (Ag NW)‐based electrodes for recording and an optical waveguide for optogenetics stimulation, as shown in Figure 6j.…”

Section: Injectable Systems For the Spinal Cordmentioning

confidence: 99%

Injectable Biomedical Devices for Sensing and Stimulating Internal Body Organs

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The rapid pace of progress in implantable electronics driven by novel technology has created devices with unconventional designs and features to reduce invasiveness and establish new sensing and stimulating techniques. Among the designs, injectable forms of biomedical electronics are explored for accurate and safe targeting of deep‐seated body organs. Here, the classes of biomedical electronics and tools that have high aspect ratio structures designed to be injected or inserted into internal organs for minimally invasive monitoring and therapy are reviewed. Compared with devices in bulky or planar formats, the long shaft‐like forms of implantable devices are easily placed in the organs with minimized outward protrusions via injection or insertion processes. Adding flexibility to the devices also enables effortless insertions through complex biological cavities, such as the cochlea, and enhances chronic reliability by complying with natural body movements, such as the heartbeat. Diverse types of such injectable implants developed for different organs are reviewed and the electronic, optoelectronic, piezoelectric, and microfluidic devices that enable stimulations and measurements of site‐specific regions in the body are discussed. Noninvasive penetration strategies to deliver the miniscule devices are also considered. Finally, the challenges and future directions associated with deep body biomedical electronics are explained.

show abstract

Flexible and stretchable nanowire-coated fibers for optoelectronic probing of spinal cord circuits

Abstract: Stretchable optoelectronic fibers interrogate spinal cord circuits during free behavior.

Cited by 193 publications

References 50 publications

In vivophotopharmacology enabled by multifunctional fibers

In vivophotopharmacology enabled by multifunctional fibers

Implantable and Biodegradable Poly(l‐lactic acid) Fibers for Optical Neural Interfaces

Injectable Biomedical Devices for Sensing and Stimulating Internal Body Organs

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About