Signal extraction and stimulation platform for neuronal cell cultures on micro electrode array biochips

Abstract

Electrophysiological studies of electrogenic cells are well established and have become a promising tool for basic research and drug discovery.<br />The following master thesis presents the construction and characteriza- tion of an in-vitro electrophysiological measurement system. The design of the system allows simultaneous recording and stimulation of action poten- tials in neuronal networks. To achieve the interface to the neuronal cell culture the measurement system is used in conjunction with microelectrode array biochips. To allow reliable detection of neuronal signals a low noise, multichannel pre-amplification and data acquisition system has been built.<br />The function and features of the electrophysiological measurement plat- form are simulated, demonstrated and finally characterized in a number of ex- periments from discrete test circuits to in-vitro recordings using rat neurons. The system was successfully employed for both recording and stimulation of neuronal cells.<br />This real time interaction with neuronal tissue through electrical stimu- lation and simultaneous recording makes the system ideally suited for stud- ies towards brain machine interfaces and advanced studies on the effects of drugs. Additionally, the system features the possibility to conduct basic impedance spectroscopy between every electrode of the microelectrode array. This opens up another wide range of experiment designs and monitoring ca- pabilities. Based on a modular design and with a relatively low system cost these features contribute to the high overall flexibility and versatility of the system.