Molecular Functionalization of Planar Nanocrystalline and Porous Nanostructured Diamond to Form an Interface with Newborn and Adult Neurons

Abstract

This article examines the ability of newly developed nanostructured porous boron‐doped diamond (BDD) to form an interface with neural cells and the role of molecular functionalization by a polymer on this interface. Due to its high stability, biocompatibility, and electrical properties, BDD is a promising material for construction of neuroelectrodes. Nanostructuring and an increase in the surface specific area can further improve the sensitivity and performance of such electrodes. Here, porous BDD prepared in a multistep diamond deposition on a porous template consisting of a polymer and electrospun SiO2 fibers is examined. This work shows that this new material is biocompatible and does not exhibit any cytotoxicity on fibroblast cell lines. Further, this work shows that porous BDD supports regeneration of newborn and adult neurons when functionalized with poly‐L‐lysine.

3.4 - Porous architectures of boron-doped diamond for electroanalysis

“…Dresdner Sensor-Symposium 2021 attachment of neural cells to the growth substrate. Such treatment is usually performed by coating material with selected cationic polymer, most widely used is poly-Llysine (PLL) [7], depicted in Fig. 3(B).…”

“…Besides sensing, another promising field in which p-BDD materials can be particularly beneficial, owing to their remarkable biocompatibility, is neuroscience. These materials have proved suitable (i) substrates for neuron cultivation [7], (ii) sensors for detection of electroactive neurotransmitters [2][3][4][5][6], and (iii) devices for stimulation or recording of electric signals [8]. Therefore, development of a p-BDD-based device, enabling cultivation of neurons and recording their neurochemical and electrical signals, can be envisioned.…”

“…Despite the emerging interest in p-BDD materials, only a few studies dealing with the impact of selected 3D scaffolds and deposition conditions on their final properties can be traced in the literature, which is why this work aimed to elucidate factors having significant impact on the performance of p-BDD. Also, one type of p-BDD developed within this study has already shown suitability for neuron cultivation [7], hence another goal of this work was to identify the best deposition parameters for fabrication of a p-BDD electrode fitting electrochemical sensing applications, and particularly targeting detection of electroactive neurotransmitters.…”

Advanced real-time recordings of neuronal activity with tailored patch pipettes, diamond multi-electrode arrays and electrochromic voltage-sensitive dyes

“…A widely adopted strategy for the fabrication of multi-electrode arrays is based on growing doped diamond layers, in which, by varying the doping level, a diamond can be tuned from insulator (10 −6 S m −1 ) to a metal-like conductive material (10 4 S m −1 ). In diamond, dopant elements employed are nitrogen [ 116 ] or more often boron [ 32 , 42 , 52 , 65 , 66 ] in concentration up to 10 21 cm −3 . Both of them are working as acceptors.…”

“…In literature, two main strategies have been described for the electrical connection of the active regions of the electrode with the front-end electronics: the first one is based on the deposition of metal (Ti/Pt or Ti/Au) paths [ 49 , 66 ] and the second one consists of forming directly the suitable paths with doped diamonds [ 65 ]. Finally, the electrodes must be passivated from the electrolyte solution using insulating materials such as standard resist like SU8 epoxy (thickness up to a few micrometres) or chemical deposited silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4 ) [ 49 ], silicon oxide (SiO 2 ) [ 49 , 52 ] or intrinsic diamond [ 65 , 66 ]. The fabrication steps are reported in Fig.…”