Microfluidic Neurons, a New Way in Neuromorphic Engineering?

Abstract

This article describes a new way to explore neuromorphic engineering, the biomimetic artificial neuron using microfluidic techniques. This new device could replace silicon neurons and solve the issues of biocompatibility and power consumption. The biological neuron transmits electrical signals based on ion flow through their plasma membrane. Action potentials are propagated along axons and represent the fundamental electrical signals by which information are transmitted from one place to another in the nervous system. Based on this physiological behavior, we propose a microfluidic structure composed of chambers representing the intra and extracellular environments, connected by channels actuated by Quake valves. These channels are equipped with selective ion permeable membranes to mimic the exchange of chemical species found in the biological neuron. A thick polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membrane is used to create the Quake valve membrane. Integrated electrodes are used to measure the potential difference between the intracellular and extracellular environments: the membrane potential.

Lab-on-Chip Microsystems for Ex Vivo Network of Neurons Studies: A Review

“…Except for building neuron models in microfluidic systems, the system can even perform like a neuron after elaborate design. Levi et al proposed a microfluidic neuron that is similar to a biological neuron ( Levi and Fujii, 2016 ). Each microfluidic neuron had a chamber representing an intracellular environment.…”

Microfluidic platforms for single neuron analysis

“…The channels mimic the plasma membrane for the exchange of various chemical species. The membrane potential difference between the two environments (i.e., inter and intracellular) are measured using integrated electrodes [ 47 ]. Another on-a-chip system where microfluidic platform is integrated with matrix of electrodes was used to record the intracellular dynamics along with the electrical activity in axonal presynaptic projections and neuronal postsynaptic targets [ 48 ].…”

Mimicking efferent nerves using a graphdiyne-based artificial synapse with multiple ion diffusion dynamics

“…For emulating synaptic behavior, a variety of structures, such as metal/insulator/metal (MIM)-stack switches 25 – 29 , electrolyte/semiconductor heterojunctions 30 , 31 , and multiterminal transistors 32 – 36 , have been employed to realize signal transmission. Among them, the configurations featuring ion migration can opportunely facilitate the emulation of biological sensory/motor neurons by neuromorphic synapses in bioinspired ionotronic systems and biohybrid systems 9 , 18 , 19 , 37 . However, exploration of the working principle of new materials and responsivity of devices, such as the thermal stability and environmental stability, is still imperative for achieving biomimetic functionalities.…”