Neurotransmitter analog tethered to a silicon platform for neuro-BioMEMS applications.
The design of chemically well-defined, machinable surfaces containing neuroactive molecules offers potential for fundamental neuroscience and clinical neural engineering applications. Here we report the assembly and characterization of silicon platforms containing a tethered form of muscimol. Muscimol, an analog of the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), is a potent agonist at postsynaptic GABA(A) and GABA(C) receptors. Surfaces were assembled using covalent avidin conjugation to silanized silicon followed by high-affinity avidin-biotin binding of a biotinylated derivative of muscimol (muscimol-biotin). Contact angle measurements, ellipsometry, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were conducted to characterize the wettability, thickness, and chemical composition of progressively deposited surface layers. The data demonstrate successful incorporation of a neurotransmitter analog as part of a layered, silicon-based structure possessing robust and specific biomolecular composition. These findings represent a step toward the design of platforms for applications involving control and modulation of neural signaling.
Nehilla
Barrett J
BJ
Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02118, USA.
Popat
Ketul C
KC
Vu
Tania Q
TQ
Chowdhury
Sarwat
S
Standaert
Robert F
RF
Pepperberg
David R
DR
Desai
Tejal A
TA
D001360:Avidin / Q000737:chemistry; D001710:Biotin / Q000737:chemistry; D019921:Biotinylation; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009118:Muscimol / Q000737:chemistry; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry*; D013057:Spectrum Analysis; D013499:Surface Properties; D017155:Wettability; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry
D001360:Avidin; D009118:Muscimol; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D001710:Biotin; D012825:Silicon