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Design, Surface Treatment, Cellular Plating, and Culturing of Modular Neuronal Networks Composed of Functionally Inter-connected Circuits
Published on: April 15, 2015
SU-8 2000 rendered cytocompatible for neuronal bioMEMS applications.
Varadraj N Vernekar1, D Kacy Cullen, Nick Fogleman
1Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA.
Journal of Biomedical Materials Research. Part A
|April 24, 2008
Summary
SU-8 2000, a material for bioMEMS, shows low neuron survival due to toxicity. Heat and parylene coating treatments significantly improve neuron viability on SU-8 2000 surfaces.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Neuroscience
- Microfabrication
Background:
- SU-8 2000 is a key material for bioMEMS due to its fabrication properties.
- Potential SU-8 2000 toxicity limits its use in neuronal cell-based applications.
- Low primary neuron survival (<10%) was observed on untreated SU-8 2000.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate detoxification and surface treatments for SU-8 2000.
- To improve the cytocompatibility of SU-8 2000 for neuronal cultures.
- To enable longer culture times for cell-based microfabrication.
Main Methods:
- Primary neurons cultured on SU-8 2000 with various treatments (heat, UV, CO2 supercritical extraction, parylene coating, glow discharge).
- Neuronal viability assessed after 7-21 days in vitro.
- Mass spectrometry and XPS analysis performed to detect leachants and elemental composition.
Main Results:
- Heat treatment (150°C, 3 days, vacuum) improved viability to 45.8%.
- Parylene coating with heat and sonication achieved 86.4% viability.
- Glow discharge treatment improved hydrophilicity and neuronal viability.
- Fluorine and antimony detected by XPS, suggesting potential neurotoxicity.
Conclusions:
- SU-8 2000 requires surface modification for neuronal cell culture.
- Combined heat, parylene coating, and sonication are highly effective in improving neuron survival.
- Further research into SU-8 2000's elemental composition is needed to fully understand and mitigate neurotoxicity.
