Plexon Inc will coat the active sites of metal microelectrodes with carbon nanotubes and carbon nanotube/conductive polymer composite materials. We will measure effects of these coatings on electrode capacitance and impedance, and examine the coating morphology and composition using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. We present data that demonstrates that carbon nanotube coated electrodes dramatically increase the ability to electrically stimulate and record from neural tissue. This grant will allow perfecting the ability to precisely coat commercially available microelectrodes with nanoscale materials and quantify the electrochemical performance increases imparted by the coatings. The ability to reliably and reproducibly apply nanotube coatings to microelectrodes means Plexon can expand its current business model to include a consumables product line. The electrodes we will coat are already widely used in the research and clinical communities, permitting customers to improve their recording and stimulating capabilities without requiring the purchase of expensive equipment or modifying their techniques.
Electrical stimulation of nerve cells through implanted electrodes is widely employed in neural prostheses for supplementing impaired hearing and vision, and has become central to a number of clinical therapies to treat conditions such as Parkinson's disease, dystonia, and chronic pain. The performance of current electrodes degrades over time;thus the neural prostheses using them have limited lifetimes. We have shown that modifying active sites of the electrodes with carbon nanotubes yields dramatic improvements in the ability to communicate with nerve cells, potentially yielding large increases in the useful life of neural prosthetic devices, with concomitant improvements in the quality of life for the prosthetic patient.
