Plasma deposited diamond-like carbon films for large neural arrays

To understand how large systems of neurons communicate, we need to develop methods for growing patterned networks of large numbers of neurons. We have found that diamond-like carbon thin films formed by energetic deposition from a filtered vacuum arc carbon plasma can serve as "neuron friendly&...

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Bibliographic Details
Date:2005
Main Authors: Brown, I.G., Blakely, E.A., Bjornstad, K.A., Galvin, J.E., Monteir, O.R., Sangyuenyongpipat, S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Національний науковий центр «Харківський фізико-технічний інститут» НАН України 2005
Series:Вопросы атомной науки и техники
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Online Access:http://dspace.nbuv.gov.ua/handle/123456789/78949
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Journal Title:Digital Library of Periodicals of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Cite this:Plasma deposited diamond-like carbon films for large neural arrays / I.G. Brown, E.A. Blakely, K.A. Bjornstad, J.E. Galvin, O.R. Monteir, S. Sangyuenyongpipat // Вопросы атомной науки и техники. — 2005. — № 1. — С. 152-156. — Бібліогр.: 17 назв. — англ.

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Digital Library of Periodicals of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
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Summary:To understand how large systems of neurons communicate, we need to develop methods for growing patterned networks of large numbers of neurons. We have found that diamond-like carbon thin films formed by energetic deposition from a filtered vacuum arc carbon plasma can serve as "neuron friendly" substrates for the growth of large neural arrays. Lithographic masks can be used to form patterns of diamond-like carbon, and regions of selective neuronal attachment can form patterned neural arrays. In the work described here, we used glass microscope slides as substrates on which diamond-like carbon was deposited. PC-12 rat neurons were then cultured on the treated substrates and cell growth monitored. Neuron growth showed excellent contrast, with prolific growth on the treated surfaces and very low growth on the untreated surfaces. Here we describe the vacuum arc plasma deposition technique employed, and summarize results demonstrating that the approach can be used to form large patterns of neurons.