Simulation and fabrication of in vitro microfluidic microelectrode array chip for patterned culture and electrophysiological detection of neurons

To enable the detection and modulation of modularized neural networks in vitro,this study proposes a microfluidic microelectrode array chip for the cultivation,compartmentalization,and control of neural cells.The chip was designed based on the specific structure of neurons and the requirements for detection and modulation.Finite-element analysis of the chip’s flow field was conducted using the COMSOL Multiphysics software,and the simulation results show that the liquid within the chip can flow smoothly,ensuring stable flow fields that facilitate the uniform growth of neurons within the microfluidic channels.By employing MEMS technology in combination with nanomaterial modification techniques,the microfluidic microelectrode array chip was fabricated successfully.Primary hippocampal neurons were cultured on the chip,forming a well-defined neural network.Spontaneous electrical activity of the detected neurons was recorded,exhibiting a 23.7%increase in amplitude compared to neuronal discharges detected on an open-field microelectrode array.This study provides a platform for the precise detection and modulation of patterned neuronal growth in vitro,potentially serving as a novel tool in neuroscience research.

Microelectrode array for bioelectrical signal stimulation and recording

A microelectrode array（MEA） is presented, which is composed of 60 independent electrodes with 59 working ones and one reference one, and they are divided into 30 pairs. Except for the reference electrode, each pair consists of one stimulating electrode and one recording electrode. Supported by the peripheral circuits, four electrode states to study the bioelectrical signal of biological tissue or slice cultured in-vitro on the surface of the electrodes can be realized through each pair of electrodes. The four electrode states are stimulation, recording, stimulation and recording simultaneously, and isolation. The state of each pair of working electrodes can be arbitrarily controlled according to actual needs. The MEAs are fabricated in printed circuit board （PCB） technology. The total area of the PCB-based MEA is 49 mm × 49 mm. The impedance measurement of MEA is carried out in 0.9% sodium chloride solution at room temperature by means of 2-point measurements with an Agilent LCR meter, and the test signal for the impedance measurement is sinusoidal （AC voltage 50 mV, sweeping frequency 20 Hz to 10 kHz）. The electrode impedance is between 200 and 3 kΩ while the frequency is between 500 and 1 000 Hz. The electrode impedance magnitude is inversely proportional to the frequency. Experiments of toad sciatic nerve in-vitro stimulation and recording and signal regeneration between isolated toad sciatic nerves are carried out on the PCB-based MEA. The results show that the MEA can be used for bioelectrical signal stimulation, recording, stimulation and recording simultaneously, and isolation of biological tissues or slices in-vitro.

Microelectrode array recordings of excitability of low Mg^(2+)-induced acute hippocampal slices

Neuronal connections can be detected by neuronal network discharges in hippocampal neurons cultured on multi-electrodes.However,the multi-electrode-array（MEA）has not been widely used in hippocampal slice culture studies focused on epilepsy.The present study induced spontaneous synchronous epileptiform activity using low Mg2＋artificial cerebrospinal fluid on acute hippocampal slices to record hippocampal discharges with MEA.Results showed that burst duration and average number of spikes in a burst were significantly greater in the CA3 compared with dentate gyrus and CA1 areas.In Schaffer cut-off group,CA1 area discharges disappeared,but synchronous discharges remained in the CA3 area.Moreover,synchronous discharge frequency in the Schaffer cut-off group was similar to control.However,burst duration and average number of spikes in a burst were significantly decreased compared with control（P 〈 0.05）.Results demonstrated that highest neuronal excitability occurred in the CA3 area,and synchronous discharges induced by low Mg2＋originated from the CA3 region.

Electrochemical Properties of Polypyrrole-Coated Microelectrode Array and the Fabrication of Polypyrrole-Based Microelectronic Devices

Conducting polymers have been studied extensively. An interesting property of the conducting polymer is that the conductivity of some polymers, such as polypyrrolc, polyaniline, poly(3-methylthiophene) etc. , is affected by the voltage applied to them. For polypyrrole, the oxidized state is an electronic conductor and the reduced state is essentially insulating. Using this property, one can fabricate the polymer-based electronic devices. Experimental results of Pickun

THE STUDY ON NOVEL MICROELECTRODE ARRAY CHIPS FOR THE DETECTION OF HEAVY METALS IN WATER POLLUTION

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of trace heavy metals in aqueous environment are rapidly assuming significance along with the rapid development of industry.In this paper,gold microelectrode array(MEA)plated with mercury film was used for simultaneous voltammetric detection of zinc,cadmium,lead and copper ions in water.The electrochemical behavior and the actual surface area of the MEA were investigated by cyclic voltammetry in K_(3)[Fe(CN)_(6)].Electrochemical impedance spectrum(EIS)was utilized to examine the deposition of mercury on the electrode surface.Based on anodic stripping voltammetry,mercury film
Au MEA was applied to the detection of heavy metals in artificial analyte,where good calibrate linearity was obtained for cadmium,lead and copper ions,but with zinc exhibiting poor linearity.

Highly-compliant,conformal and stretchable microelectrode arrays

Most biological tissues are supple and elastic, while current electronic devices fabricated by semiconductors and metals are usually stiff and brittle. As a result, implanted electronic devices can irritate and damage surrounding tissues, causing immune reaction and scarring. In this work, we develop stretchable microelectrode arrays, with the development of a novel soft lithography technology, which are designed and fabricated with a polymer/stretchable metal/polymer sandwich structure. With the great deformability of stretch, compression, bend and twisting, while preserving electrical property, this technology overcomes the fundamental mismatch of mechanical properties between biological tissues and electronic devices, and provides highly-compliant, confonnal and stretchable bio-electronic interfaces. Here we also describe the following three applications of the stretchable electrode arrays： a. monitoring intracranial electroencephalography （EEG）; b. stimulating peripheral nerves to drive muscles; c. monitoring epicardial electrocardiography （ECG）. Stretchable microelectrode arrays create a promising field in biomedical applications for its better modulus match with biological tissues and robust mechanical and electrical properties. They allow for construction of electronic integrated circuits spread over on complex and dynamic curved surfaces, providing a much friendlier bio-electronic interface for diagnosis, treatment and in- telligent bio-control.

Sparse three-dimensional imaging for forward-looking array SAR using spatial continuity

For forward-looking array synthetic aperture radar(FASAR),the scattering intensity of ground scatterers fluctuates greatly since there are kinds of vegetations and topography on the surface of the ground,and thus the signal-to-noise ratio(SNR)of its echo signals corresponding to different vegetations and topography also varies obviously.Owing to the reason known to all,the performance of the sparse reconstruction of compressed sensing(CS)becomes worse in the case of lower SNR,and the quality of the sparse three-dimensional imaging for FASAR would be affected significantly in the practical application.In this paper,the spatial continuity of the ground scatterers is introduced to the sparse recovery algorithm of CS in the threedimensional imaging for FASAR,in which the weighted least square method of the cubic interpolation is used to filter out the bad and isolated scatterer.The simulation results show that the proposed method can realize the sparse three-dimensional imaging of FASAR more effectively in the case of low SNR.

Three-dimensional coordinates test method with uncertain projectile proximity explosion position based on dynamic seven photoelectric detection screen

To objectively obtain the three-dimensional coordinates of the projectile fuze proximity explosion when projectile intersects the head of missile target, we propose a dynamic seven photoelectric detection screen test method, which is made up of six plane detection screens and a flash photoelectric dynamic detection screen. The three-dimensional coordinates calculation model of the projectile proximity explosion position based on seven plane detection screens with dynamic characteristics is established.According to the relation of the dynamic seven photoelectric detection screen planes and the time values,the analytical function of the projectile proximity explosion position parameters under non-linear motion is derived. The projectile signal filtering method based on discrete wavelet transform is explored in this work. Additionally, the projectile signal recognition algorithm using an improved particle swarm is proposed. Based on the characteristics of the time duration and the signal peak error for the projectile passing through the detection screen, the signals attribution of the same projectile passing through six detection screens are analyzed for obtaining precise time values of the same projectile passing through the detection screens. On the basis of the projectile fuze proximity explosion test, the linear motion model and the proposed non-linear motion model are used to calculate and compare the same group of projectiles proximity explosion position parameters. The comparison of test results verifies that the proposed test method and calculation model in this work accurately obtain the actual projectile proximity explosion position parameters.

CROSS-TRACK THREE APERTURES MILLIMETER WAVE SAR SIDE-LOOKING THREE-DIMENSIONAL IMAGING

The airborne cross-track three apertures MilliMeter Wave (MMW) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) side-looking three-Dimensional (3D) imaging is investigated in this paper. Three apertures are distributed along the cross-track direction, and three virtual phase centers will be obtained through one-input and three-output. These three virtual phase centers form a sparse array which can be used to obtain the cross-track resolution. Because the cross-track array is short, the cross-track resolution is low. When the system works in side-looking mode, the cross-track resolution and height resolution will be coupling, and the low cross-track resolution will partly be transformed into the height uncertainty. The beam pattern of the real aperture is used as a weight to improve the Peak to SideLobe Ratio (PSLR) and Integrated SideLobe Ratio (ISLR) of the cross-track sparse array. In order to suppress the high cross-track sidelobes, a weighting preprocessing method is proposed. The 3D images of a point target and a simulation scene are achieved to verify the feasibility of the proposed method. And the imaging result of the real data obtained by the cross-track three-baseline MMW InSAR prototype is presented as a beneficial attempt.

Model and optimization of ultrasonic phased array parameters

Beam focusing is one of the unique characteristics of ultrasonic phased array compared with conventional ultrasound.On the basis of two-dimensional radiated sound field of phased array,the three-dimensional radiated sound field was simulated in the paper,and then the effect of different frequencies,different number of array elements and different element spacings on focal spot,the depth of focus and the effect on horizontal and vertical resolution were analyzed.The optimal results of transducer parameters have certain reference value for the design of phased array probe.

Shallow velocity structure of the Luoyang basin derived from dense array observations of urban ambient noise

Determining the shallow structure of a sediment basin is important when evaluating potential seismic hazards given that such basins can significantly amplify seismic energy. The Luoyang basin is located in the western He’nan uplift and is a Meso-Cenozoic depression basin. To characterize the shallow structure of the basin, we develop a model of the shallow high-resolution three-dimensional(3D)shear-wave velocity structure of the basin by applying ambient noise tomography to a dense array of 107 portable digital seismometers deployed over the basin. More than 1,400 Rayleigh-wave dispersion curves for periods in the range 0.5–5 s are extracted. The 3D variations of shear-wave velocity in the shallow crust are inverted using a direct surface-wave tomographic method with period-dependent ray tracing, with all the surface-wave group-velocity dispersion data being inverted simultaneously. The results show that in the shallow crust of the study area, the velocity distribution corresponds to surface geology and geological features. The Luoyang basin exhibits a low shear-wave velocity feature that is consistent with the distribution of sediment in the region,while the Xiongershan and Songshan uplifts exhibit higher shear-wave velocity structures. The results provide a shallow high-resolution 3D velocity model that can be used as a basis for simulation of strong ground motion and evaluation of potential seismic hazards.

Three-dimensional fuzzy graphene ultra-microelectrodes for subcellular electrical recordings

Microelectrode arrays(MEAs)have enabled investigation of cellular networks at sub-millisecond temporal resolution.However,current MEAs are limited by the large electrode footprint since reducing the electrode’s geometric area to sub-cellular dimensions leads to a significant increase in impedance thus affecting its recording capabilities.We report a breakthrough ultra-microelectrodes platform by leveraging the outstanding surface-to-volume ratio of nanowire-templated out-of-plane synthesized three-dimensional fuzzy graphene(NT-3DFG).The enormous surface area of NT-3DFG leads to 140-fold reduction in electrode impedance compared to bare Au microelectrodes,thus enabling scaling down the geometric size by 625-fold to ca.2µm×2µm.The out-of-plane morphology of NT-3DFG leads to a tight seal with the cell membrane thus enabling recording of electrical signals with high signal-to-noise ratio(SNR)of>6.This work highlights the possibility to push the limits of the conventional MEA technology to enable electrophysiological investigation at sub-cellular level without the need of any surface coatings.This presented approach would greatly impact our basic understanding of signal transduction within a single cell as well as complex cellular assemblies.

Spatially modulated scene illumination for intensity-compensated two-dimensional array photon-counting LiDAR imaging

Photon-counting LiDAR using a two-dimensional(2D)array detector has the advantages of high lateral resolution and fast acquisition speed.The non-uniform intensity profile of the illumination beam and non-uniform quantum efficiency of the detectors in the 2D array deteriorate the imaging quality.Herein,we propose a photon-counting LiDAR system that uses a spatial light modulator to control the spatial intensity to compensate for both the non-uniform intensity profile of the illumination beam,and the variation in the quantum efficiency of the detectors in the 2D array.By using a 635 nm peak wavelength and 4 mW average power semiconductor laser,lab-based experiments at a 4.27 m stand-off distance are performed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.Compared with the unmodulated method,the standard deviation of the intensity image of the proposed method is reduced from 0.109 to 0.089 for a whiteboard target,with an average signal photon number of 0.006 per pixel.

A Precise Calibration Method on Phase Center of Uplink Antenna Array Considering Its Actual Pointing

With regard to the inferior techniques and low accuracy of phase center calibration of an antenna array, this paper proposes a new calibration method considering the actual antenna pointing by introducing a precise engineering surveying technique to measure the real state of antennas. First, an industrial photogrammetric system is utilized to obtain the coordinates of points on antenna panels in different postures, and the actual pointing of the mechanical axis is obtained via least-squares fitting. Then, based on this, the coordinates of antenna rotation center are obtained by seeking the intersection of mechanical axes via using the matrix method. Finally, the mechanical axis in arbitrary postures is estimated based on the inverse-angle weighting interpolation method, and the reliable phase center is obtained by moving a fixed length from the projective center along the mechanical axis. An uplink antenna array including three ? 3 m antennas is taken as experimental object, and all photogrammetric coordinate systems are unified by the engineering control network, with each antenna phase center precisely calibrated via the proposed method. The results of electrical signal synthesis indicate that this method can effectively overcome the influence of gravity deformation and mechanical installation error, and enhance the synthetic signal magnitude of the uplink antenna array.

A three-dimensional hollow graphene fiber microelectrode with shrink-effect-enabled enzyme immobilization for sensor applications

Microelectrodes are a type of electrode with microscopic dimension, and due to their rapid diffusing rates, high electrical current densities and signal-to-noise ratios, they can help improve the detection sensitivity for various analytes [1]. Investigations on the fabrication and the application of microelectrodes are highly relevant. Fiber-type microelectrodes with one-dimensional (ID) microstructures that possess ID diffusion, particularly carbon fiber microelectrodes, have been widely fabricated and used in many different types of sensors due to their low cost, small volume, portability, and good biocompatibility [1,2]. However, poor electrocatalytic activity and low response currents preclude the applications of carbon fiber microelectrodes in sensors.

Development of silicon-based microelectrode array

This paper introduces in details a kind of silicon-based microelectrode array. MEMS (micro-electromechanical system) technology is used in the fabrication of the microelectrode array, which is designed to perform signal recording and electrical stimulation for nerves in neural engineering. A simple fabrication process is developed. An improved model of microelectrodes is brought forward and successfully validated by the excellent match between circuit simulations and electrical measurements, including both magnitude and phase of microelectrode impedance. Compared with the simple one that is usually used, the improved model is believed to be an advance and more accurate. This modeling helps to improve the design of microelectrodes and understand the behavior of interface between electrode and cell. Furthermore, the microelectrode is proved to be a feasible tool for researches in neural engineering by successfully recording neural activities of sciatic nerve of a bullfrog.

An implantable microelectrode array for simultaneous L-glutamate and electrophysiological recordings in vivo

L-glutamate,the most common excitatory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system(CNS),is associated with a wide range of neurological diseases.Because neurons in CNS communicate with each other both electrically and chemically,dualmode(electric and chemical)analytical techniques with high spatiotemporal resolution are required to better understand glutamate function in vivo.In the present study,a silicon-based implantable microelectrode array(MEA)composed of both platinum electrochemical and electrophysiological microelectrodes was fabricated using micro-electromechanical system.In the MEA probe,the electrophysiological electrodes have a low impedance of 0.018 MΩat 1 kHz,and the electrochemical electrodes show a sensitivity of 56 pAμM^(−1) to glutamate and have a detection limit of 0.5μM.The MEA probe was used to monitor extracellular glutamate levels,spikes and local field potentials(LFPs)in the striatum of anaesthetised rats.To explore the potential of the MEA probe,the rats were administered to KCl via intraperitoneal injection.K+significantly increases extracellular glutamate levels,LFP low-beta range(12–18 Hz)power and spike firing rates with a similar temporal profile,indicating that the MEA probe is capable of detecting dual-mode neuronal signals.It was concluded that the MEA probe can help reveal mechanisms of neural physiology and pathology in vivo.

Cross-talk-free integral imaging three-dimensional display based on a pyramid pinhole array

We propose a cross-talk-free integral imaging 3D display based on a pyramid pinhole array. The pyramid pinhole array is used to provide a point light source array. Since the generated point light source array is behind a transmission-type display panel that displays an elemental image array, the pseudoscopic problem can be resolved. By setting the appropriate parameters for the pyramid pinhole array, the cross talk can be eliminated.We experimentally verify the reconstruction of the orthoscopic and cross-talk-free 3D images using the proposed 3D display.

A Downward-looking Three-dimensional Imaging Method for Airborne FMCW SAR Based on Array Antennas

With regard to problems in conventional synthetic aperture radar （SAR）, such as imaging distortion, beam limitation and failure in acquiring three-dimensional （3-D） information, a downward-looking 3-D imaging method based on frequency modulated continuous wave （FMCW） and digital beamforming （DBF） technology for airborne SAR is presented in this study. Downward-looking 3-D SAR signal model is established first, followed by introduction of virtual antenna optimization factor and discussion of equivalent-phase-center compensation. Then, compensation method is provided according to reside video phase （RVP） and slope term for FMCW SAR. As multiple receiving antennas are applied to downward-looking 3-D imaging SAR, range cell migration correction （RCMC） turns to be more complex, and corrective measures are proposed. In addition, DBF technology is applied in realizing cross-track resolution. Finally, to validate the proposed method, magnitude of slice, peak sidelobe ratio （PSLR）, integrated sidelobe ratio （ISLR） and two-dimensional （2-D） contour plot of impulse response function （IRF） of point target in three dimensions are demonstrated. Satisfactory performances are shown by simulation results.

Microelectrode Array-evaluation of Neurotoxic Effects of Magnesium as an Implantable Biomaterial

Magnesium （Mg）-based biomaterials have shown great potential in clinical applications. However, the cytotoxic effects of excessive Mg2. and the corrosion products from Mg-based biomaterials, particularly their effects on neurons, have been little studied. Although viability tests are most commonly used, a functional evaluation is critically needed. Here, both methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium （MTT） and lactate de- hydrogenase （LDH） assays were used to test the effect of Mg2. and Mg-extract solution on neuronal viability. Microelectrode arrays （MEAs）, which provide long-term, real-time recording of extracellular electro- physiological signals of in vitro neuronal networks, were used to test for toxic effects. The minimum effective concentrations （ECmin） of Mg2. from the MTr and LDH assays were 3 mmol/L and 100 mmol/L respec- tively, while the ECmin obtained from the MEA assay was 0.1 mmol/L MEA data revealed significant loss of neuronal network activity when the culture was exposed to 25% Mg-extract solution, a concentra- tion that did not affect neuronal viability. For evaluating the biocompatibility of Mg-based biomaterials with neurons, MEA electrophysiological testing is a more precise method than basic cell-viability testing.