Developed: Brain-on-a-Chip Featuring Multiple Cell Types

Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have developed a way to create “brain-on-a-chip” devices that can be used to study brain function, how various chemical compounds influence it, and what can be done to protect the brain from toxic chemicals, etc. The technology may help lessen the need for laboratory animals, speed up drug development, and help us understand how the brain works at the cellular level.

The development is part of the iCHIP (in-vitro Chip-Based Human Investigational Platform) project that aims to create ex vivo platforms that mimic the workings of different organs and body processes. In the current study, the researchers were able to grow multiple types of brain cells together on top of an electrode array. This array, being in intimate proximity to the cells, can be used to read the cells’ electrical activity and therefore help understand how the cells are interacting with each other.

Both hippocampal and cortical cells were deposited onto the electrodes of the array and placed in a similar physical relationship as they would have naturally within the brain. Special inserts were used to guarantee this, but they were eventually removed. Once the cells were allowed to live and propagate, the electrode array was used to read the electrical signals they generate. Moreover, additional and greater variety of cell types was also tried, showing that in principle the platform can be expanded toward larger experiments.

Study in journal PLOS ONE: Controlled placement of multiple CNS cell populations to create complex neuronal cultures…

Via: Lawrence Livermore…