A wireless, implantable optoelectrochemical probe for optogenetic stimulation and dopamine detection

Changbo Liu; Yu Zhao; Xue Cai; Yang Xie; Taoyi Wang; Dali Cheng; Lizhu Li; Rongfeng Li; Yuping Deng; He Ding; Guoqing Lv; Guanlei Zhao; Lei Liu; Guisheng Zou; Meixin Feng; Qian Sun; Lan Yin; Xing Sheng

doi:10.1038/s41378-020-0176-9

A wireless, implantable optoelectrochemical probe for optogenetic stimulation and dopamine detection

Microsyst Nanoeng. 2020 Aug 24:6:64. doi: 10.1038/s41378-020-0176-9. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Changbo Liu¹, Yu Zhao², Xue Cai², Yang Xie², Taoyi Wang³, Dali Cheng², Lizhu Li², Rongfeng Li⁴, Yuping Deng⁵, He Ding⁶, Guoqing Lv⁶, Guanlei Zhao⁷, Lei Liu⁷, Guisheng Zou⁷, Meixin Feng⁸, Qian Sun⁸, Lan Yin⁵, Xing Sheng²

Affiliations

¹ School of Materials Science and Engineering and Hangzhou Innovation Institute, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191 China.
² Department of Electronic Engineering, Beijing National Research Center for Information Science and Technology and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084 China.
³ Department of Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084 China.
⁴ Beijing Institute of Collaborative Innovation, Beijing, 100094 China.
⁵ School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084 China.
⁶ Beijing Engineering Research Center of Mixed Reality and Advanced Display, School of Optics and Photonics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081 China.
⁷ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084 China.
⁸ Key Laboratory of Nano-devices and Applications, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Suzhou, 215123 China.

Abstract

Physical and chemical technologies have been continuously progressing advances in neuroscience research. The development of research tools for closed-loop control and monitoring neural activities in behaving animals is highly desirable. In this paper, we introduce a wirelessly operated, miniaturized microprobe system for optical interrogation and neurochemical sensing in the deep brain. Via epitaxial liftoff and transfer printing, microscale light-emitting diodes (micro-LEDs) as light sources and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS)-coated diamond films as electrochemical sensors are vertically assembled to form implantable optoelectrochemical probes for real-time optogenetic stimulation and dopamine detection capabilities. A customized, lightweight circuit module is employed for untethered, remote signal control, and data acquisition. After the probe is injected into the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of freely behaving mice, in vivo experiments clearly demonstrate the utilities of the multifunctional optoelectrochemical microprobe system for optogenetic interference of place preferences and detection of dopamine release. The presented options for material and device integrations provide a practical route to simultaneous optical control and electrochemical sensing of complex nervous systems.

Keywords: Biosensors; Electrical and electronic engineering.