CAREER: Optoelectronic neural scaffolds: materials platform for investigation and control of neuronal activity and development

1253890 anikeevaintellicmerit该职业提案旨在弥合先进光电材料设计与用于治疗神经系统疾病的侵入性和过时设备之间的差距。通过开发柔性的、生物相容的聚合物光电支架（OPTELS），一种将单个光学敏感神经元整合到神经记录和刺激设备中的策略将被创造出来。这些被捕获的神经元将作为光刺激或抑制完整神经网络的继电器进行研究，这将有可能使光遗传学的未来临床应用成为可能，这是一种强大的光神经刺激工具，无需对患者进行基因改造。具体来说，该项目将集中在以下目标上：(1)开发以纤维为灵感的空心聚合物基optel制造方法，并利用它们来隔离有助于电子活动神经元存活和生长的关键材料参数（表面几何形状、电荷、灵活性）；(2)利用OPTELS研究和控制神经元生长，以轴突沿OPTELS核心引导为目标。拟议的研究将探索化学、光电和机械刺激，并利用optel记录和刺激神经活动的能力来确定促进轴突生长的因素；(3)利用捕获在OPTELS核中的神经元作为光神经询问的中继装置。基因修饰将应用于被困在optel核心中的神经元，使光敏离子通道-视蛋白能够表达。这些中继神经元与外部网络之间突触的控制形成将应用于光遗传学研究，而不直接对其进行遗传修饰。更广泛的影响拟议的项目将探索光电子器件和神经组织之间的材料界面，为治疗衰弱的神经系统疾病（如帕金森病或脊髓损伤）提供亲密生理神经修复装置的途径。该项目的教育和推广部分旨在通过课堂培训和动手实验室实习来加强麻省理工学院和内城社区学院的材料工程和光电子教育。具体来说，外展计划旨在通过“医疗电子和光学：救生工程”系列研讨会，以及在PIs实验室为期10周的研究和教育暑期实习，提高社区大学学生和教师对医学工程影响的认识。此外，将为光学和电子材料的核心本科课程开发新的讲座材料和基于器件设计的作业，并为高年级本科生调整研究生光子学课程，以提高学生的光电子知识。这些教材将通过麻省理工学院开放的网络资源提供给全世界的学习者。

1253890AnikeevaIntellectual MeritThis CAREER proposal aims to bridge the gap between advanced optoelectronicmaterials design and invasive and outdated devices used to treat neurologicaldisorders. By developing flexible, biocompatible polymer-based optoelectronic scaffolds(OPTELS) a strategy for incorporating individual optically sensitive neurons into neuralrecording and stimulation devices will be created. These trapped neurons will beinvestigated as relays of optical stimulation or inhibition to intact neural networks, whichwill potentially enable future clinical applications of optogenetics, a powerful opticalneural stimulation tool, without genetic modification of the patient. Specifically theproject will be focused on the following objectives: (1) Developing fiber-inspiredfabrication methods for hollow-core polymer-based OPTELS and employing them toisolate key materials parameters (surface geometry, charge, flexibility) contributing tosurvival and growth of electronically active neurons; (2) Using OPTELS to investigateand control neuronal growth with the goal of axonal guidance along the OPTELS core.The proposed study will explore chemical, optoelectronic and mechanical stimuli andemploy OPTELS ability to record and stimulate neural activity to determine factorscontributing to axonal growth; (3) Employing neurons trapped in OPTELS cores as relaydevices of optical neural interrogation. Genetic modification will be applied to theneurons trapped within the OPTELS cores to enable expression of light-sensitive ionchannels - opsins. The controlled formation of synapses between these relay neuronsand the outside networks will be applied to the investigation of optogenetic interrogationof the network without directly genetically modifying it.Broader ImpactThe proposed project will explore materials interfaces between optoelectronic devicesand neural tissues providing a pathway towards intimate physiological neuroprostheticdevices for treatment of debilitating neurological conditions such as Parkinson's diseaseor spinal cord injury. The educational and outreach components of the project aredesigned to enhance materials engineering and optoelectronics education at MIT and atinner city community colleges through classroom training and hands-on laboratoryinternships. Specifically the outreach program aims to increase awareness about theimpact of engineering in medicine among community college students and teachersthrough the seminar series "Medical Electronics and Optics: Life-saving Engineering",and 10-week research and education summer internships in the PIs laboratory. Inaddition new lecture material and device-design based assignments will be developedfor the core undergraduate course on optical and electronic materials and a graduatephotonics course will be adapted to senior undergraduates with the goal of advancingoptoelectronics knowledge among the students. The educational materials will be madeavailable to worldwide community of learners through an open MIT web-basedresource.