title: Neurotransmitter analog tethered to a silicon platform for neuro-BioMEMS applications.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02118, USA.
authors.forename: Barrett J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Nehilla
authors.forename: Ketul C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Popat
authors.forename: Tania Q
authors.initials: TQ
authors.lastname: Vu
authors.forename: Sarwat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chowdhury
authors.forename: Robert F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Standaert
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Pepperberg
authors.forename: Tejal A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Desai
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D001360:Avidin; D009118:Muscimol; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D001710:Biotin; D012825:Silicon