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Controlled assembly of retinal cells on fractal and Euclidean electrodes

Moslehi, Saba ; Rowland, Conor ; Smith, Julian H. ; Watterson, William J. ; Miller, David ; Niell, Cristopher M. ; Alemán, Benjamín J. ; Perez, Maria Thereza LU and Taylor, Richard P. (2022) In PLoS ONE 17(4).
Abstract

Controlled assembly of retinal cells on artificial surfaces is important for fundamental cell research and medical applications. We investigate fractal electrodes with branches of vertically- aligned carbon nanotubes and silicon dioxide gaps between the branches that form repeating patterns spanning from micro- to milli-meters, along with single-scaled Euclidean electrodes. Fluorescence and electron microscopy show neurons adhere in large numbers to branches while glial cells cover the gaps. This ensures neurons will be close to the electrodes' stimulating electric fields in applications. Furthermore, glia won't hinder neuronbranch interactions but will be sufficiently close for neurons to benefit from the glia's life-supporting... (More)

Controlled assembly of retinal cells on artificial surfaces is important for fundamental cell research and medical applications. We investigate fractal electrodes with branches of vertically- aligned carbon nanotubes and silicon dioxide gaps between the branches that form repeating patterns spanning from micro- to milli-meters, along with single-scaled Euclidean electrodes. Fluorescence and electron microscopy show neurons adhere in large numbers to branches while glial cells cover the gaps. This ensures neurons will be close to the electrodes' stimulating electric fields in applications. Furthermore, glia won't hinder neuronbranch interactions but will be sufficiently close for neurons to benefit from the glia's life-supporting functions. This cell 'herding' is adjusted using the fractal electrode's dimension and number of repeating levels. We explain how this tuning facilitates substantial glial coverage in the gaps which fuels neural networks with small-world structural characteristics. The large branch-gap interface then allows these networks to connect to the neuron-rich branches.

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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
PLoS ONE
volume
17
issue
4
article number
e0265685
publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
external identifiers
  • pmid:35385490
  • scopus:85127621665
ISSN
1932-6203
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0265685
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
afe4e497-d06a-4cdf-b921-9ee163a47245
date added to LUP
2022-06-10 10:17:23
date last changed
2024-04-18 12:10:09
@article{afe4e497-d06a-4cdf-b921-9ee163a47245,
  abstract     = {{<p>Controlled assembly of retinal cells on artificial surfaces is important for fundamental cell research and medical applications. We investigate fractal electrodes with branches of vertically- aligned carbon nanotubes and silicon dioxide gaps between the branches that form repeating patterns spanning from micro- to milli-meters, along with single-scaled Euclidean electrodes. Fluorescence and electron microscopy show neurons adhere in large numbers to branches while glial cells cover the gaps. This ensures neurons will be close to the electrodes' stimulating electric fields in applications. Furthermore, glia won't hinder neuronbranch interactions but will be sufficiently close for neurons to benefit from the glia's life-supporting functions. This cell 'herding' is adjusted using the fractal electrode's dimension and number of repeating levels. We explain how this tuning facilitates substantial glial coverage in the gaps which fuels neural networks with small-world structural characteristics. The large branch-gap interface then allows these networks to connect to the neuron-rich branches. </p>}},
  author       = {{Moslehi, Saba and Rowland, Conor and Smith, Julian H. and Watterson, William J. and Miller, David and Niell, Cristopher M. and Alemán, Benjamín J. and Perez, Maria Thereza and Taylor, Richard P.}},
  issn         = {{1932-6203}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  publisher    = {{Public Library of Science (PLoS)}},
  series       = {{PLoS ONE}},
  title        = {{Controlled assembly of retinal cells on fractal and Euclidean electrodes}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265685}},
  doi          = {{10.1371/journal.pone.0265685}},
  volume       = {{17}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}