一種精確控制神經活動的光電器件，有柔性，很耐用

論文標題：Flexible polyimide-based hybrid opto-electric neural interface with 16 channels of micro-LEDs and electrodes

期刊：Microsystems&Nanoengineering

作者：Bowen Ji, Zhejun Guo, Minghao Wang, Bin Yang, Xiaolin Wang, Wen Li, Jingquan Liu

發表時間：2018/10/08

數字識別碼： 10.1038/s41378-018-0027-0

圖1

中國上海交通大學Jingquan Liu等研究成果：

科學家們最近研究出了一種可以植入在大鼠大腦中的柔性器件，這種器件可通過光線精確地打開大鼠的神經細胞並同步記錄它們的活動，而且比較耐用。中國上海交通大學的Jingquan Liu等研究者將穩定的引線鍵合型微LED和改良的微電極陣列結合起來，設計出這種新型的器件，能夠比目前在光遺傳學中使用的光纖更精確地定位到局部大腦皮層。在這領域的研究中，科學家們是通過基因改變神經細胞來產生光敏蛋白質，從而讓他們能通過光線來控制神經活動。該研究對於治療帕金森病和抑鬱症等疾病的有所幫助。經過3個月的浸泡測試，反覆按壓摩擦5000次，新設備仍保持著良好的性能。這是一種在多功能光遺傳領域很有用的工具，並且可能和無線技術進行集成在一起，具有較好的前景。

圖2

A durable, flexible device can be implanted on rat brains to precisely turn on nerve cells using light and synchronously record their activities. Jingquan Liu and colleagues from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China combined reliable wire-bonding micro-LED and modified microelectrode arrays to design a device that can more precisely target local brain cortex with light than the currently used optic fibers in optogenetics. In this field of research, scientists genetically alter nerve cells to produce light-sensing proteins, allowing them to control nerve activity with light. This could lead to advancements in the treatment of diseases like Parkinson』s and depression. The new device retains good performance after 3 months of soaking test and repeated pressing and friction for 5000 times. It is a useful multifunctional optogenetics tool and potentially integrated with wireless technology.

摘要：In this paper, a polyimide-based flexible device that integrates 16 micro-LEDs and 16 IrOx-modified microelectrodes for synchronous photostimulation and neural signal recording is presented. The 4 × 4 micro-LEDs (dimensions of 220 × 270 × 50 μm3, 700 μm pitch) are fixed in the SU-8 fence structure on a polyimide substrate and connected to the leads via a wire-bonding method. The recording electrodes share a similar fabrication process on the polyimide with 16 microelectrode sites (200 μm in diameter and 700 μm in pitch) modified by iridium oxide (IrOx). These two subparts can be aligned with alignment holes and glued back-to-back by epoxy, which ensures that the light from the LEDs passes through the corresponding holes that are evenly distributed around the recording sites. The long-term electrical and optical stabilities of the device are verified using a soaking test for 3 months, and the thermal property is specifically studied with different duty cycles, voltages, and frequencies. Additionally, the electrochemical results prove the reliability of the IrOx-modified microelectrodes after repeated pressing or friction. To evaluate the tradeoff between flexibility and strength, two microelectrode arrays with thicknesses of 5 and 10 μm are evaluated through simulation and experiment. The proposed device can be a useful mapping optogenetics tool for neuroscience studies in small (rats and mice) and large animal subjects and ultimately in nonhuman primates.

期刊介紹： Microsystems & Nanoengineering is an online-only, open access international journal devoted to publishing original research results and reviews on all aspects of Micro and Nano Electro Mechanical Systems from fundamental to applied research. The journal is published by Springer Nature in partnership with the Institute of Electronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, supported by the State Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology.

（來源：Microsystems&Nanoengineering）

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