Insertion shuttle with carboxyl terminated self-assembled monolayer coatings for implanting flexible polymer neural probes in the brain.

ABSTRACT: Penetrating microscale microelectrodes made from flexible polymers tend to bend or deflect and may fail to reach their target location. The development of flexible neural probes requires methods for reliable and controlled insertion into the brain. Previous approaches for implanting flexible probes into the cortex required modifications that negate the flexibility, limit the functionality, or restrict the design of the probe. This study investigated the use of an electronegative self-assembled monolayer (SAM) as a coating on a stiff insertion shuttle to carry a polymer probe into the cerebral cortex, and then the detachment of the shuttle from the probe by altering the shuttle's hydrophobicity. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and polyimide probes were inserted into an agarose in vitro brain mo

SUBMITTER: Kozai TD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3165009 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature