Nanowire Nanoelectronic/Cell Assemblies as Hybrid Functional Biomaterials

该项目的中心目标将是开发可寻址纳米线阵列之间的有源接口 创造二维和三维功能生物材料的电子设备和细胞。纳米级的 表示用于创建到细胞的活动接口的设备的自然长度刻度，因为 纳米结构是定义生命系统中细胞间通信和信号传递的关键组件， 然而，这种规模的界面实际上是一个未知的研究领域。将探讨的总体目标 解决这一问题和实现中心项目目标如下。第一，纳米线纳米电子的局限性 将描述设备/单元接口的功能和灵敏度。与细胞的通信，两者都记录 来自(细胞输出)和刺激(细胞输入)，通过直接电机制和化学/生物 将开发信号检测/释放和相应的检测灵敏度和空间分辨率 不同的模式将被阐明。第二，不同类型的功能纳米线的可寻址阵列 将开发与蜂窝网络接口的设备，并描述它们的行为。一个重要的 这项工作的重点是利用自下而上与自上而下的纳米科学的独特能力，将 开发(I)在柔性的、生物相容的聚合物衬底上连接的纳米电子阵列，(Ii)折叠或 使用穿孔聚合物衬底增强层到层的层状纳米线/单元三维阵列 相互作用，以及(3)从衬底平面伸出的纳米电子器件，以实现与INTO的接口 三维细胞阵列和组织。拟议中的项目有可能对生物医学产生影响 以实质性方式进行研究，包括建立强大的新工具来理解 相互作用的细胞网络的行为，复杂的、基于电子的细胞/组织的发展 假肢和其他医疗设备的接口，以及具有潜在应用前景的新生物材料的创造 多种应用，例如在混合信息处理中。

The central goal of this project will be to develop active interfaces between arrays of addressable nanowire electronic devices and cells to create two- and three-dimensional functional biomaterials. The nanoscale represents a natural length scale for devices used to create active interfaces to cells because biological nanostructures are the key components that define intercellular communication and signaling in living systems, yet this scale of interface is virtually uncharted research territory. The overall objectives that will be explored to address this territory and to meet the central project goal are as follows. First, limits of nanowire nanoelectronic device/cell interface functionality and sensitivity will be characterized. Communication with cells, both recording from (cell output) and stimulation of (cell input), through direct electrical mechanisms and chemical/biological signal detection/release will be developed and the corresponding detection sensitivity and spatial resolution for different modes will be elucidated. Second, addressable arrays of different types of functional nanowire devices interfaced with cellular networks will be developed and their behavior delineated. An important emphasis of this work, which exploits the unique capabilities of bottom-up versus top-down nanoscience, will be to develop (i) interfaced nanoelectronic arrays on flexible, biocompatible polymeric substrates, (ii) folded or layered nanowire/cell three-dimensional arrays using perforated polymeric substrates to enhance layer-to-layer interactions, and (iii) nanoelectronic devices projecting out of the substrate plane to enable interfacing `into' three-dimensional cellular arrays and tissue. The proposed project has the potential to impact biomedical research in substantial ways, including the establishment of powerful new tools for understanding the behavior of interacting cellular networks, the development of sophisticated, electrically-based cell/tissue interfaces for prosthetics and other medical devices, and the creation of new biomaterials with potential for diverse applications, such as in hybrid information processing.