Vertically aligned carbon nanofiber neural chip for interfacing with neurological system

Abstract

Neual chips have been used to detect and modulate neuroelectrical activity for almost 30 years. Their capability of simultaneous, multi-site recording enable neuroscientists to study neural signal processing through neural circuits. By improving sensitivity and spatial resolution, nano scale neural chips may revolutionize neural detection and modulation at cellular and molecular levels. We developed a carbon-nanofiber neural chip with lithographically defined arrays of vertically aligned carbon nanofiber electrodes and demonstrated its capability of both stimulating and monitoring electrophysiological signals from brain tissues in vitro. This novel neural chip can potentially serve as dual-mode neural interface for monitoring of both neuroelectrical and neurochemical activity by simultaneous recording of electrophysiology and neurotransmitter concentration.