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

1253890 Anikeeva智力优势本职业计划旨在弥合先进的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。通过开发灵活的，生物相容的基于聚合物的光电支架（OPTELS），将创建一个将单个光学敏感神经元纳入神经记录和刺激设备的策略。这些被捕获的神经元将被研究为光学刺激或抑制的中继器，以完整的神经网络，这将有可能使未来的临床应用的光遗传学，一个强大的光学神经刺激工具，没有遗传修饰的病人。具体而言，本项目将集中于以下目标：（1）开发基于光纤的中空聚合物基OPTELS的制造方法，并利用它们分离关键材料参数（表面几何形状、电荷、柔性）有助于电子活性神经元的存活和生长;（2）利用OPTELS研究和控制神经元的生长，目的是沿着OPTELS核心沿着轴突导向。（3）利用OPTELS核心中的神经元作为光学神经询问的中继装置。基因修饰将应用于被困在OPTELS核心内的神经元，以使光敏离子通道-视蛋白的表达成为可能。这些中继神经元和外部网络之间的突触的控制形成将被应用到网络的光遗传学的调查interrogationof而不直接遗传修饰它。更广泛的影响拟议的项目将探索光电设备和神经组织之间的材料接口提供了一条通往亲密的生理neuroprostheticdevices治疗衰弱的神经系统疾病，如帕金森氏病或脊髓损伤的途径。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学教育。具体来说，推广计划的目的是提高社区大学学生和教师对医学工程影响的认识，通过系列研讨会“医疗电子和光学：救生工程”，以及在PI实验室为期10周的研究和教育暑期实习。此外，新的讲座材料和器件设计为基础的作业将发展为核心的本科课程的光学和电子材料和研究生光子学课程将适应高年级本科生的目标是提高学生的光电知识.教育材料将通过开放的麻省理工学院网络资源提供给世界各地的学习者。

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MeritThis CAREER proposal aims to bridge the gap between advanced optoelectronicmaterials design and invasive and outdated devices used to treat neurologicaldisorders.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.