title: Three-dimensional macroporous nanoelectronic networks as minimally invasive brain probes.
abstract: Direct electrical recording and stimulation of neural activity using micro-fabricated silicon and metal micro-wire probes have contributed extensively to basic neuroscience and therapeutic applications; however, the dimensional and mechanical mismatch of these probes with the brain tissue limits their stability in chronic implants and decreases the neuron-device contact. Here, we demonstrate the realization of a three-dimensional macroporous nanoelectronic brain probe that combines ultra-flexibility and subcellular feature sizes to overcome these limitations. Built-in strains controlling the local geometry of the macroporous devices are designed to optimize the neuron/probe interface and to promote integration with the brain tissue while introducing minimal mechanical perturbation. The ultra-flexible probes were implanted frozen into rodent brains and used to record multiplexed local field potentials and single-unit action potentials from the somatosensory cortex. Significantly, histology analysis revealed filling-in of neural tissue through the macroporous network and attractive neuron-probe interactions, consistent with long-term biocompatibility of the device.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Chong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Tian-Ming
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Xiaochuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.|John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Charles M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lieber
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D004567:Electrodes, Implanted; D036103:Nanotechnology; D051381:Rats