title: A nanoporous alumina microelectrode array for functional cell-chip coupling.
abstract: The design of electrode interfaces has a strong impact on cell-based bioelectronic applications. We present a new type of microelectrode array chip featuring a nanoporous alumina interface. The chip is fabricated in a combination of top-down and bottom-up processes using state-of-the-art clean room technology and self-assembled generation of nanopores by aluminum anodization. The electrode characteristics are investigated in phosphate buffered saline as well as under cell culture conditions. We show that the modified microelectrodes exhibit decreased impedance compared to planar microelectrodes, which is caused by a nanostructuring effect of the underlying gold during anodization. The stability and biocompatibility of the device are demonstrated by measuring action potentials from cardiomyocyte-like cells growing on top of the chip. Cross sections of the cell-surface interface reveal that the cell membrane seals the nanoporous alumina layer without bending into the sub-50 nm apertures. The nanoporous microelectrode array device may be used as a platform for combining extracellular recording of cell activity with stimulating topographical cues.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bioelectronics (PGI-8/ICS-8) and JARA-Fundamentals of Future Information Technology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich, Germany.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wesche
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hüske
authors.forename: Alexey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yakushenko
authors.forename: Dorothea
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brüggemann
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Offenhäusser
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wolfrum
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D000537:Aluminum Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D001681:Biological Assay / Q000295:instrumentation; D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D002460:Cell Line; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003217:Conductometry / Q000295:instrumentation; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D051379:Mice; D008839:Microelectrodes; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000502:physiology*; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation*
chemical_list: D000537:Aluminum Oxide