4 research outputs found
Modulation of Cultured Neural Networks Using Neurotrophin Release
Polyacrylamide and poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate hydrogels were synthesized and
characterized for use as drug release and substrates for neuron cell culture. Protein release
kinetics was determined by incorporating bovine serum albumin (BSA) into hydrogels during
polymerization. To determine if hydrogel incorporation and release affect bioactivity, alkaline
phosphatase was incorporated into hydrogels and a released enzyme activity determined using
the fluorescence-based ELF-97 assay. Hydrogels were then used to deliver a brain-derived
neurotrophic factor (BDNF) from hydrogels polymerized over planar microelectrode arrays
(MEAs). Primary hippocampal neurons were cultured on both control and
neurotrophin-containing hydrogel-coated MEAs. The effect of released BDNF on neurite
length and process arborization was investigated using automated image analysis. An
increased spontaneous activity as a response to the released BDNF was recorded from the
neurons cultured on the top of hydrogel layers. These results demonstrate that proteins of
biological interest can be incorporated into hydrogels to modulate development and function of
cultured neural networks. These results also set the stage for development of hydrogel-coated
neural prosthetic devices for local delivery of various biologically active molecules.This work was supported by the International Collaboration
Program, Nano Bioelectronics and Systems Engineering
Research Center/Korea Science and Engineering Foundation
(R11-2000-075-00002-0), by the Nanobiotechnology Center
(NBTC), an STC Program of the National Science Foundation
under agreement no. ECS-9876771, the National Institutes
of Health under agreement no. R01-NS044287 (WS)
and by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering under agreement no. R21EB007782 (MRH).
The computational image analysiswas supported by the Center
for Subsurface Sensing and Imaging Systems (NSF EEC-
9986821). The authors acknowledge use of the Wadsworth
Center Advanced Light Microscopy & Image Analysis Core
Facility. They would also like to thank Shirley Madewell and
Adriana Verschoor for critical review of the manuscript