Electrical Stimulation of Neural Stem Cells Mediated by Humanized Carbon Nanotube Composite Made with Extracellular Matrix Protein
Electrical Stimulation of Neural Stem Cells Mediated by Humanized Carbon Nanotube Composite Made with Extracellular Matrix Protein
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DOI：
10.1021/nl802859a
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发表时间：
2009-01-01
期刊：
影响因子：
10.8
通讯作者：
Kotov, Nicholas A.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Kam, Nadine Wong Shi;Jan, Edward;Kotov, Nicholas A.
设计神经接口的关键挑战之一是尽量减少它们对植入电极的免疫反应。一种潜在的方法是利用神经干细胞来制造与活体组织结构更相似的材料。碳纳米管独特的电气和机械特性使其成为神经接口的绝佳候选者，但它们的采用取决于寻找“人性化”其复合材料的方法。在这里，我们展示了由单壁碳纳米管（SWNT）和层粘连蛋白（人类细胞外基质的重要组成部分）层层组装的复合材料的制造。研究发现层粘连蛋白-SWNT 薄膜有利于神经干细胞 (NSC) 分化并适合其成功激发。我们观察到功能神经网络的广泛形成，如突触连接的存在所示。 NSC 的钙成像显示，在通过 SWNT 基底施加横向电流时会产生动作电位。这些结果表明，蛋白质-SWNT复合材料可以作为神经电极的材料基础，其化学结构更好地适应与神经组织的长期结合。
One of the key challenges to engineering neural interfaces is to minimize their immune response toward implanted electrodes. One potential approach is to manufacture materials that bear greater structural resemblance to living tissues and by utilizing neural stem cells. The unique electrical and mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes make them excellent candidates for neural interfaces, but their adoption hinges on finding approaches for "humanizing" their composites. Here we demonstrated the fabrication of layer-by-layer assembled composites from single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and laminin, which is an essential part of human extracellular matrix. Laminin-SWNT thin films were found to be conducive to neural stem cells (NSC) differentiation and suitable for their successful excitation. We observed extensive formation of functional neural network as indicated by the presence of synaptic connections. Calcium imaging of the NSCs revealed generation of action potentials upon the application of a lateral current through the SWNT substrate. These results indicate that the protein-SWNT composite can serve as materials foundation of neural electrodes with chemical structure better adapted with long-term integration with the neural tissue.