Person:
Rodilla González, Beatriz Loreto

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First Name
Beatriz Loreto
Last Name
Rodilla González
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/86268
Affiliation
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Faculty / Institute
Ciencias Físicas
Department
Física de Materiales
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2021 - 20242
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Author: González, M. Teresa × Item Type: Publication ×

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    Nanostructured gold electrodes promote neural maturation and network connectivity
    (Biomaterials, 2021) Dominguez-Bajo, Ana; Rosa, Juliana M.; González-Mayorga, Ankor; Rodilla González, Beatriz Loreto; Arché-Nuñez, Ana; Benayas, Esther; Ocón, Pilar; Pérez García, Lucas; Camarero, Julio; Miranda, Rodolfo; González, M. Teresa; Aguilar, Juan; Lopez-Dolado, Elisa; Serrano, María C.
    Progress in the clinical application of recording and stimulation devices for neural diseases is still limited, mainly because of suboptimal material engineering and unfavorable interactions with biological entities. Nanotechnology is providing upgraded designs of materials to better mimic the native extracellular environment and attain more intimate contacts with individual neurons, besides allowing for the miniaturization of the electrodes. However, little progress has been done to date on the understanding of the biological impact that such neural interfaces have on neural network maturation and functionality. In this work, we elucidate the effect of a gold (Au) highly ordered nanostructure on the morphological and functional interactions with neural cells and tissues. Alumina-templated Au nanostructured electrodes composed of parallel nanowires of 160 nm in diameter and 1.2 mu m in length (Au-NWs), with 320 nm of pitch, are designed and characterized. Equivalent non-structured Au electrodes (Au-Flat) are used for comparison. By using diverse techniques in in vitro cell cultures including live calcium imaging, we found that Au-NWs interfaced with primary neural cortical cells for up to 14 days allow neural networks growth and increase spontaneous activity and ability of neuronal synchronization, thus indicating that nanostructured features favor neuronal network. The enhancement in the number of glial cells found is hypothesized to be behind these beneficial functional effects. The in vivo effect of the implantation of these nanostructured electrodes and its potential relevance for future clinical applicability has been explored in an experimental model of rat spinal cord injury. Subacute responses to implanted Au-NWs show no overt reactive or toxic biological reactions besides those triggered by the injury itself. These results highlight the translational potential of Au-NWs electrodes for in vivo applications as neural interfaces in contact with central nervous tissues including the injured spinal cord.
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    Flexible metallic core–shell nanostructured electrodes for neural interfacing
    (Scientific Reports, 2024) Rodilla González, Beatriz Loreto; Arché-Nuñez, Ana; Ruiz-Gómez, Sandra; Domínguez-Bajo, Ana; Fernández-González, Claudia; Guillén-Colomer, Clara; González-Mayorga, Ankor; Rodríguez-Díez, Noelia; Camarero, Julio; Miranda, Rodolfo; López-Dolado, Elisa; Ocón, Pilar; Serrano, María Concepción; Pérez García, Lucas; González, M. Teresa
    Electrodes with nanostructured surface have emerged as promising low-impedance neural interfaces that can avoid the charge‐injection restrictions typically associated to microelectrodes. In this work, we propose a novel approximation, based on a two-step template assisted electrodeposition technique, to obtain flexible nanostructured electrodes coated with core–shell Ni–Au vertical nanowires. These nanowires benefit from biocompatibility of the Au shell exposed to the environment and the mechanical properties of Ni that allow for nanowires longer and more homogeneous in length than their only-Au counterparts. The nanostructured electrodes show impedance values, measured by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), at least 9 times lower than those of flat reference electrodes. This ratio is in good accordance with the increased effective surface area determined both from SEM images and cyclic voltammetry measurements, evidencing that only Au is exposed to the medium. The observed EIS profile evolution of Ni–Au electrodes over 7 days were very close to those of Au electrodes and differently from Ni ones. Finally, the morphology, viability and neuronal differentiation of rat embryonic cortical cells cultured on Ni–Au NW electrodes were found to besimilar to those on control (glass) substrates and Au NW electrodes, accompanied by a lower glial cell differentiation. This positive in-vitro neural cell behavior encourages further investigation to explore the tissue responses that the implantation of these nanostructured electrodes might elicit in healthy (damaged) neural tissues in vivo, with special emphasis on eventual tissue encapsulation.