All-carbon multi-electrode array for real-time in vitro measurements of oxidizable neurotransmitters

TL;DR

This paper introduces an all-carbon multi-electrode array fabricated via ion beam techniques, enabling real-time, simultaneous detection of neurotransmitter release from cells with enhanced stability and biocompatibility.

Contribution

The development of a novel all-carbon multi-electrode array based on single-crystal diamond for in vitro neurotransmitter detection is presented, offering improved stability and multi-site recording capabilities.

Findings

Successful fabrication of graphitic micro-channels in diamond substrates.

Effective simultaneous amperometric detection of chromaffin cell activity.

Enhanced stability and reusability of the bio-sensing device.

Abstract

We report on the ion beam fabrication of all-carbon multi electrode arrays (MEAs) based on 16 graphitic micro-channels embedded in single-crystal diamond (SCD) substrates. The fabricated SCD-MEAs are systematically employed for the in vitro simultaneous amperometric detection of the secretory activity from populations of chromaffin cells, demonstrating a new sensing approach with respect to standard techniques. The biochemical stability and biocompatibility of the SCD-based device combined with the parallel recording of multi-electrodes array allow: i) a significant time saving in data collection during drug screening and/or pharmacological tests over a large number of cells, ii) the possibility of comparing altered cell functionality among cell populations, and iii) the repeatition of acquisition runs over many cycles with a fully non-toxic and chemically robust bio-sensitive substrate.