Carbon nanotube scaffolds tune synaptic strength in cultured neural circuits: novel frontiers in nanomaterial-tissue interactions.
J Neurosci
; 31(36): 12945-53, 2011 Sep 07.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-21900573
ABSTRACT
A long-term goal of tissue engineering is to exploit the ability of supporting materials to govern cell-specific behaviors. Instructive scaffolds code such information by modulating (via their physical and chemical features) the interface between cells and materials at the nanoscale. In modern neuroscience, therapeutic regenerative strategies (i.e., brain repair after damage) aim to guide and enhance the intrinsic capacity of the brain to reorganize by promoting plasticity mechanisms in a controlled fashion. Direct and specific interactions between synthetic materials and biological cell membranes may play a central role in this process. Here, we investigate the role of the material's properties alone, in carbon nanotube scaffolds, in constructing the functional building blocks of neural circuits the synapses. Using electrophysiological recordings and rat cultured neural networks, we describe the ability of a nanoscaled material to promote the formation of synaptic contacts and to modulate their plasticity.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Synapses
/
Nanotubes, Carbon
/
Tissue Scaffolds
/
Nerve Net
/
Neurons
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
J Neurosci
Year:
2011
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Italy