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Deployable, liquid crystal elastomer-based intracortical probes.

Rashed T Rihani1, Allison M Stiller1, Joshua O Usoro1

  • 1Department of Bioengineering, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA.

Acta Biomaterialia
|May 20, 2020
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

New deployable microelectrode arrays (MEAs) use liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) to move recording sites away from the insertion point, improving chronic functionality by avoiding the foreign body response (FBR). These smart neural interfaces show promise for enhanced brain recording.

Keywords:
Actuating neural interfaceIntracortical probeLiquid crystal elastomerMicroelectrode arrayNeuronal recording

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Area of Science:

  • Biomaterials Science
  • Neuroscience Engineering
  • Medical Devices

Background:

  • Chronic implantation of microelectrode arrays (MEAs) is hindered by the foreign body response (FBR), a biological reaction that degrades device performance within 50-100 µm of the implant.
  • Existing flexible polymer substrates for MEAs aim to reduce FBR but often fail to fully mitigate recording degradation.
  • There is a need for neural interface designs that can strategically position recording sites away from the initial implantation zone to overcome FBR limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the feasibility of using Liquid Crystal Elastomers (LCEs) as a substrate material for deployable intracortical MEAs.
  • To develop and characterize LCE-based MEAs capable of programmable, in-situ deployment after implantation.
  • To assess the ability of these deployable MEAs to record neural activity in vivo at distances exceeding the typical FBR zone.

Main Methods:

  • Fabrication of LCE intracortical probes designed to transition from a planar to a 3D shape upon release.
  • Utilizing a polyethylene glycol (PEG) layer to maintain a planar configuration for insertion, which dissolves in physiological conditions to enable deployment.
  • Testing probe deployment in a brain-like agarose phantom and in vivo, alongside finite element modeling to predict deployment behavior.
  • Evaluating electrochemical stability and in vivo neural recording capabilities of the deployed LCE-based MEAs.

Main Results:

  • LCE intracortical probes successfully deployed within a brain-like agarose tissue phantom, with deployment distance correlating to probe width.
  • A finite element model accurately predicted the deployed shape of the probes within an elastic medium.
  • In vivo experiments demonstrated that LCE-based deployable MEAs maintained electrochemical stability and recorded extracellular signals from cortical neurons.
  • The devices achieved deployment of recording sites greater than 100 µm from the insertion site in vivo.

Conclusions:

  • Liquid Crystal Elastomers (LCEs) are a feasible and promising substrate material for creating deployable intracortical microelectrode arrays.
  • LCE-based deployable MEAs offer a novel approach to strategically position neural recording sites, potentially overcoming the limitations imposed by the foreign body response.
  • This technology holds significant potential for improving the long-term functionality and performance of neural implants for various applications in neuroscience and medicine.