Electronically wired petri dish: A microfabricated interface to the biological neuronal network

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Abstract
Presented is the design, fabrication, and evaluation of 72-channel microcircuit electrode arrays (biochips) built to interface neurons and computers. Contributions include a detailed mathematical model of the electrode/electrolyte interface and subsequent electrode design optimization (in terms of maximum signal-to-noise ratio). Electrode impedance measurements were obtained with the electrodes submerged in electrolytic neural solution. Large sample results indicate a 7% discrepancy between theoretical and measured impedances. In addition to the engineering efforts, biological cell culturing techniques were developed to enable the growth of synaptically interconnected, electrically excitable cells on the biochip. Both dissociated invertebrate neurons and clonal mammalian cell systems were employed. Together these contributions enabled microvolt signals to be recorded from individual neurons grown and synaptically interconnected on the biochip surface. Also recorded were neuronal responses to on-chip stimulation. Consequently, the biochip technology presented represents a step towards a long-term, noninvasive, multisite electrical stimulation and recording capability necessary for extracting the mechanisms governing the way living neural networks connect, integrate, and self-organize.

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