Materials and technologies for soft implantable neuroprostheses

Lacour, Stéphanie; Courtine, Grégoire; Guck, Jochen

doi:10.1038/natrevmats.2016.63

Cited by 546 publications

(534 citation statements)

References 130 publications

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“…The physicochemical properties of electrode materials directly influence glial gene expression, inflammation and chronic gliosis 156 . Soft, nanoscale and bioactive materials have been incorporated into device design to produce electrode arrays with improved biointegration 157 .…”

Section: Glial-activation Challenges and Design Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Silicon and polyurethane are substantially stiffer than brain tissue (Young’s moduli for silicon, polyurethane and brain tissue are ~10 2 , ~10 −1 and ~10 −5 GPa, respectively 156 ). Minimizing the mechanical mismatch between the device and neural tissue improves gliosis, inflammation and neuronal preservation 156,161,162 , and next-generation devices incorporate flexible materials designed to more closely mimic the stiffness of brain tissue (Fig. 5).…”

Section: Glial-activation Challenges and Design Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Glial responses to implanted electrodes in the brain

et al. 2017

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The use of implants that can electrically stimulate or record electrophysiological or neurochemical activity in nervous tissue is rapidly expanding. Despite remarkable results in clinical studies and increasing market approvals, the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of neuroprosthetic and neuromodulation devices, as well as their side effects and reasons for their failure, remain poorly understood. A major assumption has been that the signal-generating neurons are the only important target cells of neural-interface technologies. However, recent evidence indicates that the supporting glial cells remodel the structure and function of neuronal networks and are an effector of stimulation-based therapy. Here, we reframe the traditional view of glia as a passive barrier, and discuss their role as an active determinant of the outcomes of device implantation. We also discuss the implications that this has on the development of bioelectronic medical devices.

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Section: Glial-activation Challenges and Design Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Glial-activation Challenges and Design Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Glial responses to implanted electrodes in the brain

et al. 2017

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“…Studies indicate that the deleterious chronic immune response is in part due to the mechanical mismatch between the neural tissue and the probe, and together these factors prohibit stable recording and tracking of electrophysiological activities from single neurons over extended time periods. 18,23,28,49–53 …”

Section: Unique Chronic Interface With Brain Tissuementioning

confidence: 99%

Tissue-like Neural Probes for Understanding and Modulating the Brain

et al. 2018

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Electrophysiology tools have contributed substantially to understanding brain function, yet the capabilities of conventional electrophysiology probes have remained limited in key ways due to large structural and mechanical mismatches with respect to neural tissue. In this Perspective, we discuss how the general goal of probe design in biochemistry – that the probe or label has a minimal impact on the properties and function of the system being studied – can be realized by minimizing structural, mechanical and topological differences between neural probes and brain tissue, thus leading to a new paradigm of tissue-like mesh electronics. The unique properties and capabilities of the tissue-like mesh electronics as well as future opportunities are summarized. First, we discuss the design of an ultra-flexible and open mesh structure of electronics that is tissue-like and can be delivered in the brain via minimally-invasive syringe injection like molecular and macromolecular pharmaceuticals. Second, we describe the unprecedented tissue healing without chronic immune response that leads to seamless three-dimensional integration with a natural distribution of neurons and other key cells through these tissue-like probes. These unique characteristics lead to unmatched stable long-term, multiplexed mapping and modulation of neural circuits at the single-neuron level on a year timescale. Last, we offer insights on several exciting future directions for the tissue-like electronics paradigm that capitalize on their unique properties to explore biochemical interactions and signaling in a ‘natural’ brain environment.

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“…[36][37][38] Therefore, numerous studies have been conducted to optimize flexibility and geometrical structure of different substrates for future implants. [39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46] However, adding electronic functionality to soft substrate materials remains difficult due to technical limitations arising from standard fabrication methods. Recently, bioactive coating of MEAs using hydrogels has been introduced in an effort to overcome the mechanical mismatch of the metal-biological interface.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Printed microelectrode arrays on soft materials: from PDMS to hydrogels

et al. 2018

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Microelectrode arrays (MEAs) provide promising opportunities to study electrical signals in neuronal and cardiac cell networks, restore sensory function, or treat disorders of the nervous system. Nevertheless, most of the currently investigated devices rely on silicon or polymer materials, which neither physically mimic nor mechanically match the structure of living tissue, causing inflammatory response or loss of functionality. Here, we present a new method for developing soft MEAs as bioelectronic interfaces. The functional structures are directly deposited on PDMS-, agarose-, and gelatin-based substrates using ink-jet printing as a patterning tool. We demonstrate the versatility of this approach by printing high-resolution carbon MEAs on PDMS and hydrogels. The soft MEAs are used for in vitro extracellular recording of action potentials from cardiomyocyte-like HL-1 cells. Our results represent an important step toward the design of next-generation bioelectronic interfaces in a rapid prototyping approach.npj Flexible Electronics (2018) 2:15 ;

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Materials and technologies for soft implantable neuroprostheses

Cited by 546 publications

References 130 publications

Glial responses to implanted electrodes in the brain

Glial responses to implanted electrodes in the brain

Tissue-like Neural Probes for Understanding and Modulating the Brain

Printed microelectrode arrays on soft materials: from PDMS to hydrogels

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