Gold Nanorod-Embedded PDMS Micro-Pillar Array for Localized Photothermal Stimulation

Gold nanorods (GNRs) are one of the most promising biomaterial choices for the photothermal activation of neurons due to their relative biocompatibility, unique photothermal properties, and broad optical tunability through their synthetic shape control. While photothermal stimulation using randomly accumulated GNRs successfully demonstrates the potential treatment of functional neural disorders by modulating the neuronal activities using localized heating, there are limited demonstrations to translate this new concept into large-arrayed neural stimulations. In this paper, we report an arrayed PDMS micropillar platform in which GNRs are embedded as pixel-like, arrayed photothermal stimulators at the tips of the pillars. The proposed platform will be able to localize GNRs at predetermined pillar positions and create thermal stimulations using near-infrared (NIR) light. This will address the limitations of randomly distributed GNR-based approaches. Furthermore, a flexible PDMS pillar structure will create intimate interfaces on target cells. By characterizing the spatiotemporal temperature change in the platform with rhodamine B dye, we have shown that the localized temperature can be optically modulated within 4°C, which is in the range of temperature variation required for neuromodulation using NIR light. We envision that our proposed platform has the potential to be applied as a photothermal, neuronal stimulation interface with high spatiotemporal resolution.