Yoonkey Nam

Photothermal neuromodulation is one of the emerging technologies being developed for neuroscience studies because it can provide minimally invasive control of neural activity in the deep brain with submillimeter precision. However, single-cell modulation without genetic modification still remains a challenge, hindering its path to broad applications. Here, we introduce a nanoplasmonic approach to inhibit single-neural activity with high temporal resolution. Low-intensity near-infrared light was

For cell-based biosensor applications, dissociated neurons have been cultured on planar microelectrode arrays (MEAs) to measure the network activity with substrate-embedded microelectrodes. There has been a need for a multi-well type platform to reduce the data collection time and increase the statistical power for data analysis. This study presents a novel method to convert a conventional MEA into a multi-well MEA with an array of micrometre-sized neuronal culture ('neuronal micro-circuit array

Embryonic rat hippocampal neurons were cultured in order to gain insights into how small networks of neurons interact. The principal observations are the electrical activities recorded with the electrode arrays, primarily action potentials both spontaneous and evoked. Several lithographic techniques were developed for controlling with micrometer precision the patterns of surface molecules in order to control neuronal attachment and growth. Cytophilic polylysine against protein repellent and henc

The pitches of nanostructured substrates regulate the in vitro development of neuron cells. In their Communication on page 10114 ff., I. S. Choi, Y. Nam, and co-workers show that the neurite outgrowth of primary hippocampal neurons within a few days is much faster on an anodized aluminum oxide substrate that has a 400 nm pitch rather than on one that has a 60 nm pitch.

Thermoplasmonic effect-based neural stimulation has been suggested as an alternative optical neural stimulation technology without genetic modification. Integration of near-infrared light with plasmonic gold nanoparticles has been demonstrated as a neuromodulation tool on <i>in vitro</i> neuronal network models. In order to further test the validity of the thermoplasmonic neural stimulation across multiple biological models (<i>in vitro</i>, <i>ex vivo</i>, and <i>in vivo</i>) avoiding genetic m

The soft lithographic technique is a collection of simple and cost-effective patterning techniques which applies an elastomeric stamp to transfer a nano/micro-scale pattern. Patterning biological materials using soft lithography provides procedurally simple control of the surface chemistry and the cell environments. However, conventional methods for generating microstructures on a substrate require expensive clean room facilities and skillful training. Here we report a simple and inexpensive cle

In recent years, photothermal stimulation methods using plasmonic metal nanoparticles have emerged as non-genetic optical techniques in neuromodulation. Although nanoparticle-based photothermal stimulation shows great potential in the excitation and the inhibition of neural activity, the complex synthesis processes of the nanoparticles and the lack of large-area deposition methods can be limiting factors for the development of photothermal neural devices. In this paper, we propose a plasmonic go

The purpose of this work was to study the development of astroglial cells in patterned neuronal cultures. Hippocampal neurons, derived from embryonic stage (E18) rats and cultured in serum-free Neurobasal/B27 medium, grew to follow patterns of poly(D-lysine) created by micro-contact printing. The growth of the astroglial cells and the co-localization of neurons and astroglial cells were measured for up to one month using fluorescence immunostaining of neurons and astroglial cells. Neurons grew t

Engineered culture substrates with chemical neurite guidance cues have been used for studying the mechanism of axon pathfinding at cellular level. In this study, we designed a novel poly-l-lysine (PLL) micropattern ("pinstripe micropattern") to investigate how the same biomolecules with slightly different surface concentration can affect in vitro neuronal growth. The pinstripe micropattern was fabricated by stamping PLL on a PLL-coated glass coverslip, which resulted in denser PLL lines and a le

Light-mediated neuromodulation techniques provide great advantages to investigate neuroscience due to its high spatial and temporal resolution. To generate a spatial pattern of neural activity, it is necessary to develop a system for patterned-light illumination to a specific area. Digital micromirror device (DMD) based patterned illumination system have been used for neuromodulation due to its simple configuration and design flexibility. In this paper, we developed a patterned near-infrared (NI

Microelectrode arrays (MEAs) have been extensively used to measure extracellular spike activity from cultured neurons using multiple electrodes embedded in a planar glass substrate. This system has been implemented to investigate drug effects by detecting pharmacological perturbation reflected in spontaneous network activity. By configuring multiple wells in an MEA, a high-throughput electrophysiological assay has become available, speeding up drug tests. Despite its merits in acquiring massive