title: Fabrication and analysis of microfiber array platform for optogenetics with cellular resolution.
abstract: Optogenetics has emerged as a revolutionary technology especially for neuroscience and has advanced continuously over the past decade. Conventional approaches for patternedin vivooptical illumination have a limitation on the implanted device size and achievable spatio-temporal resolution. In this work, we developed a fabrication process for a microfiber array platform. Arrayed poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) microfibers were drawn from a polymer solution and packaged with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The exposed end face of a packaged microfiber was tuned to have a size corresponding to a single cell. To demonstrate its capability for single cell optogenetics, HEK293T cells expressing channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) were cultured on the platform and excited with UV laser. We could then observe an elevation in the intracellular Ca2+concentrations due to the influx of Ca2+through the activated ChR2 into the cytosol. The statistical and simulation results indicate that the proposed microfiber array platform can be used for single cell optogenetic applications.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Photonics and Optoelectronics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; These authors contributed equally to this work.
authors.forename: Jian-Hong
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; These authors contributed equally to this work.
authors.forename: Ming-Yi
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chien-Yuan
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Photonics and Optoelectronics, and Department of Electrical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Lon A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Wang
keywords: (060.2280) Fiber design and fabrication; (170.2655) Functional monitoring and imaging; (250.5460) Polymer waveguides