Development of a Microdevice for Photoelectrical Stimulation of Cells

项目总结/摘要 细胞的光电刺激是一种新兴技术，具有扩大细胞功能的巨大潜力。 组织工程的工具集，以及使新的疗法治疗神经系统疾病，但其 潜在的应用受到现有光电刺激装置的大尺寸的限制。的 本研究的目的是开发一种用于光电刺激的新型装置。该装置， 称为微器件，其特征在于小于10微米的尺寸和盘状形状， 通过光伏机制将光转换成电信号，以及可工程化的表面性质。这些 这些特征潜在地允许微型器件结合到单个细胞上，并通过 光电刺激具体目标是（1）建立用于制造所设计的 微器件，和（2）评估微器件在细胞的光电刺激中的性能。 该研究的成功完成将为验证微器件的可行性奠定基础 其进一步发展成为组织工程研究和神经调节治疗的可行工具。

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Photoelectrical stimulation of cells is an emerging technique with tremendous potential for expanding the toolset for tissue engineering as well as enabling new therapies for treating neurological diseases, but its potential applications are limited by the large size of the existing photoelectrical-stimulation devices. The objective of this proposed study is to develop a novel device for photoelectrical stimulation. The device, which is termed microdevice, is featured by a sub-10 µm size and disk-like shape, a well-defined layered structure for converting light to electrical signals via the photovoltaic mechanism, and engineerable surface properties. These features potentially allow the microdevices to bind to individual cells and modulate their behaviors through photoelectrical stimulation. The specific aims are to (1) establish a protocol for fabricating the designed microdevices, and (2) evaluate the performance of the microdevices in photoelectrical stimulation of cells. Successful completion of the proposed research will validate feasibility of the microdevice and lay a foundation for its further development into a viable tool for tissue engineering research and neuromodulation therapy.