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Authors & Affiliations
Julio Alvarez, Sara Mirsadeghi, Ali Hosseini, Sven Schoenecker, Peter Jones, Michele Giugliano, Jenny Hsieh
Abstract
Brain organoid technology is a pivotal tool for exploring human brain physiology and diseases. Despite its potential, current readout capabilities constrain brain organoid electrophysiological research. Classical microelectrode arrays (MEA) fall short in capturing data from intact organoids, which may flatten in the 2D-MEA surface, jeopardizing physiological responses and data validity. To overcome this, we pioneered a mesh MEA, preventing morphological deformations, fostering 3D growth, and facilitating electrical activity recording within intact organoids over an extended period. Electrophysiological recordings of human brain organoids were performed in an MEA-2100 headstage from MultiChannel Systems, accommodating classical MEA (c-MEA) and mesh MEA (m-MEA) chips. Extracellular neural activity, sampled at 25 kHz and filtered at 400 Hz for spike detection, accurately reflected action potential events on the membrane. Neuronal migration around the mesh was monitored using light microscopy. The mesh MEA integrates 60 titanium nitride electrodes (30 µm diameter), connected via a 200 µm-long polyamide filament pitch, forming a flexible mesh. The average noise level of c-MEA and m-MEA systems was comparable (± 10 µV). Spike time analysis revealed heightened activity after seven days on the m-MEA compared to acute recordings on c-MEA, with a mean firing rate of 5 Hz in classical MEA and 34 Hz in the mesh MEA. Microscopy images illustrated neuronal migration, dendritic growth, and axon development around the mesh structure and electrodes. These findings suggest that the m-MEA holds great promise for comprehensive, long-term organoid electrophysiological studies, providing deeper insights into human brain functions and disorders.