Nano-optoelectrodes Integrated with Flexible Multifunctional Fiber Probes by High-Throughput Scalable Fabrication

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Materials Science
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Metallic nano-optoelectrode arrays offer dual functionality as nanoelectrodes and optical nanoantennas.
• Integrating these arrays into miniaturized systems for in vivo multimodal sensing remains a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop flexible nano-optoelectrode-integrated multifunctional fiber probes for combined in vivo electrical recording and optical biosensing.
• To enable hybrid optical-electrical sensing multimodalities for advanced neural monitoring.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of nano-optoelectrode arrays on flexible fiber probe tips using physical vapor deposition through nanohole array masks.
• Integration of these arrays into a miniaturized multifunctional probing system.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated flexible fiber probes capable of hybrid sensing: optical refractive index sensing, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, and electrophysiological recording.
• Successful creation of nano-optoelectrode arrays via a scalable nanofabrication process.

Conclusions:

• Flexible nano-optoelectrode-integrated multifunctional fiber probes offer a novel platform for multimodal monitoring of brain activity.
• This technology facilitates simultaneous electrical neural recording and optical biochemical sensing at the single-cell level, opening new avenues in neuroscience research.