Maria Rosa Antognazza, Diego Ghezzi, Marco Dal Maschio, Erica Lanzarini, Fabio Benfenati, Guglielmo Lanzani
Interfacing artificial functional materials and living neuronal tissues is at
the forefront of bio-nano-technology. Attempts have been so far based onto
microscale processing of metals and inorganic semiconductors as electrodes or
photoactive layers in biased devices. More recently, also nanomaterials
properties have been investigated. In spite of extensive research however, the
communication between biological tissues and artificial sensors is still a
challenge. Constraints consist in the complexity of the fabrication processes
(i.e. metal and semiconductor lithography), the mechanical properties (e.g.
flexibility and mechanical invasiveness) and chemical influence (e.g.
inflammatory reactions). In addition, electrodes have fixed geometries that
limit the location in space of the stimulus and often electrical currents are
detrimental for the overall system. To this respect organic soft matter offers
a chance in terms of biological affinity and mechanical properties. In
particular conjugated polymers have appealing optoelectronic features which
could lead to a new generation of neuronal communication and photo-manipulation
techniques. So far conjugated polymers have being only tested as coatings of
electrodes for neuronal activity recording. Here we report an up-scale of their
use: the successful interfacing of an organic semiconductor to a network of
cultured primary neurons, through optical excitation. This allows to a new
paradigm for the optical stimulation of neurons which could have important
implications for the development of an artificial retina based on organic
photodetectors.
View original:
http://arxiv.org/abs/1202.1189
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