Nanowire electrodes receive nerve signals

Electrodes operated into the brain are today used in research and to treat diseases such as Parkinson’s. Their use, however, has been limited by their size.

It is claimed that researchers at Lund University’s Neuronano Research Centre have, for the first time, succeeded in implanting an ultrathin nanowire-based electrode into the brain of an animal and capturing signals from its nerve cells.

Their electrode is composed of a group of nanowires, each of which measures 200nm (nanometres) in diameter. Such thin electrodes have previously only been used in experiments with cell cultures.

‘Carrying out experiments on a living animal is much more difficult. We are pleased that we have succeeded in developing a functioning nano-electrode, getting it into place and capturing signals from nerve cells’, said Prof Jens Schouenborg, who is head of the Neuronano Research Centre.

According to a statement, the research group has already worked for several years to develop electrodes that are thin and flexible enough not to disturb the brain tissue, and with material that does not irritate the cells nearby. They now have the first evidence that it is possible to obtain useful nerve signals from nanometre-sized electrodes.