Imperial College London
Alternate

ProfessorIainMcCulloch

Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Chemistry

Visiting Professor
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 5669i.mcculloch

 
 
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Location

 

Molecular Sciences Research HubWhite City Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Savva:2022:10.1101/2022.02.17.480608,
author = {Savva, A and Hama, A and Herrera-López, G and Gasparini, N and Migliaccio, L and Kawan, M and Steiner, N and McCulloch, I and Baran, D and Fiumelli, H and Magistretti, P and Gowacki, ED and Inal, S},
doi = {10.1101/2022.02.17.480608},
title = {Photo-Electrochemical Stimulation of Neurons with Organic Donor-Acceptor Heterojunctions},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2022.02.17.480608},
year = {2022}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - <jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Recent advancements in light-responsive materials enabled the development of devices to artificially activate tissue with light, and show great potential for use in different types of therapy. Photo-stimulation based on organic semiconductors has recently attracted interest due to their unique set of properties such as biocompatibility, better mechanical match with human tissue, and strong absorption of light in the visible spectrum. Here we show the development of solution processed organic heterojunctions that are able to control the activity of primary neurons <jats:italic>in vitro</jats:italic> with light. The p-type polymer semiconductor PDCBT and the n-type polymer semiconductor ITIC (also known as non-fullerene acceptor) are simply spin coated on glass substrates forming a bilayer p-n junction with high photo-sensitivity in aqueous electrolytes. Photo-electrochemical measurements reveal that high photo-voltage and photo-current is produced, as a result of a charge transfer between the polymers and oxygen in the electrolyte. The biocompatibility of the proposed materials is addressed with live/dead assays on both primary mouse cortical neurons and human cell lines that are cultured on their surface. We have found that light of low intensity (i.e. 40 mW/cm<jats:sup>2</jats:sup>) is absorbed, and converted into a cue that triggers action potential on primary cortical neurons directly cultured on glass/PDCBT/ITIC interfaces as proven by patch clamp measurements. The activation of neurons is most likely due to photochemical reactions at the polymer/electrolyte interface that result in hydrogen peroxide, which might lead to modulation of specific ion channels on neurons membrane. Photo-thermal effects are excluded with controlled patch clamp measurements on neurons cultured on plain glass and on photoresist thin films. The profound advantages of low intensity light stimulation, simpl
AU  - Savva,A
AU  - Hama,A
AU  - Herrera-López,G
AU  - Gasparini,N
AU  - Migliaccio,L
AU  - Kawan,M
AU  - Steiner,N
AU  - McCulloch,I
AU  - Baran,D
AU  - Fiumelli,H
AU  - Magistretti,P
AU  - Gowacki,ED
AU  - Inal,S
DO  - 10.1101/2022.02.17.480608
PY  - 2022///
TI  - Photo-Electrochemical Stimulation of Neurons with Organic Donor-Acceptor Heterojunctions
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2022.02.17.480608
ER  -
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