[ad_1]
A groundbreaking study presents an innovative graphene-based neurotechnology developed by ICN2 and its partners, with potential for significant advances in neuroscience and therapeutic applications. (Artist’s concept). Credit: SciTechDaily.com
Innovative graphene The neurotechnology developed by ICN2 and its collaborators promises transformative advances in neuroscience and medical applications, demonstrating high-precision neural interfaces and specific nerve modulation.
A study published in Nanotechnology from nature presents an innovative graphene-based neurotechnology with the potential to have a transformative impact on neuroscience and medical applications. This research, led by the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2) together with the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and other national and international partners, is currently being developed for therapeutic applications through the spin-off INBRAIN Neuroelectronics.
Key features of graphene technology
After years of research under the European flagship project Graphene, ICN2 led, in collaboration with the University of Manchester, the development of EGNITE (Engineered Graphene for Neural Interfaces), a new class of implantable graphene-based neurotechnology, flexible, high resolution and high precision. . The results recently published in Nature Neurotechnology Its goal is to contribute innovative technologies to the burgeoning landscape of neuroelectronics and brain-computer interfaces.
EGNITE draws on the vast experience of its inventors in the manufacturing and medical translation of carbon nanomaterials. This innovative technology based on nanoporous graphene integrates standard manufacturing processes in the semiconductor industry to assemble graphene microelectrodes just 25 µm in diameter. Graphene microelectrodes exhibit low impedance and high charge injection, essential attributes for flexible and efficient neural interfaces.
Preclinical validation of functionality
Preclinical studies conducted by several neuroscience and biomedical experts who partnered with ICN2, using different models for the central and peripheral nervous system, demonstrated EGNITE’s ability to record high-fidelity neural signals with exceptional clarity and precision, and, More importantly, they allow highly specific objectives to be achieved. Nervous modulation. The unique combination of high-fidelity signal recording and precise nerve stimulation offered by EGNITE technology represents a potentially critical advance in neuroelectronic therapeutics.
This innovative approach addresses a critical gap in neurotechnology, which has seen few advances in materials over the past two decades. The development of EGNITE electrodes has the ability to place graphene at the forefront of neurotechnological materials.
International collaboration and scientific leadership
The technology presented today builds on the legacy of the Graphene Flagship, a European initiative that over the past decade has strived to promote European strategic leadership in technologies that rely on graphene and other 2D materials. Behind this scientific advance is a collaborative effort led by ICN2 researchers Damià Viana (now at INBRAIN Neuroelectronics), Steven T. Walston (now at the University of Southern California), and Eduard Masvidal-Codina, under the direction of ICREA José A. Garrido. CIN2 leader Advanced electronic materials and devices Group, and ICREA Kostas Kostarelos, leader of ICN2 Nanomedicine Laboratory and the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health at the University of Manchester (United Kingdom). The research has had the participation of Xavier Navarro, Natàlia de la Oliva, Bruno Rodríguez-Meana and Jaume del Valle, from the Institute of Neurosciences and the Department of Cellular Biology, Physiology and Immunology of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB).
The collaboration has the contribution of prominent national and international institutions, such as the Institut de Microelectrònica de Barcelona – IMB-CNM (CSIC), the National Graphene Institute of Manchester (United Kingdom) and the Grenoble Institut des Neurosciences – Université Grenoble Alpes (France ). ) and the University of Barcelona. The integration of the technology into standard semiconductor manufacturing processes has been carried out in the Micro and Nanofabrication clean room of the IMB-CNM (CSIC), under the supervision of CIBER researcher Dr. Xavi Illa.
Clinical translation: next steps
The EGNITE technology described in the Nanotechnology from nature The article has been patented and licensed to INBRAIN Neuroelectronics, a Barcelona-based spin-off of ICN2 and ICREA, with the support of IMB-CNM (CSIC). The company, also a partner in the Graphene Flagship project, is leading the translation of the technology into clinical applications and products. Under the direction of CEO Carolina Aguilar, INBRAIN Neuroelectronics is preparing for the first human clinical trials of this innovative graphene technology.
The industrial and innovation landscape in semiconductor engineering in Catalonia, where ambitious national strategies plan to build state-of-the-art facilities to produce semiconductor technologies based on emerging materials, offer an unprecedented opportunity to accelerate the translation of the results presented today into the clinic. Applications.
Final comments
He Nanotechnology from nature The paper describes an innovative graphene-based neurotechnology that can be scaled up using established semiconductor manufacturing processes, which has the potential to have a transformative impact. ICN2 and its partners continue to advance and mature the technology described with the goal of translating it into truly effective and innovative therapeutic neurotechnology.
Reference: “Nanoporous graphene-based thin film microelectrodes for high-resolution neuronal stimulation and recording in vivo” by Damià Viana, Steven T. Walston, Eduard Masvidal-Codina, Xavi Illa, Bruno Rodríguez-Meana, Jaume del Valle, Andrew Hayward, Abbie Dodd, Thomas Loret, Elisabet Prats-Alfonso, Natàlia de la Oliva, Marie Palma, Elena del Corro, María del Pilar Bernicola, Elisa Rodríguez-Lucas, Thomas Gener, Jose Manuel de la Cruz, Miguel Torres-Miranda, Fikret Taygun Duvan, Nicola Ria, Justin Sperling, Sara Martí-Sánchez, Maria Chiara Spadaro, Clément Hébert, Sinead Savage, Jordi Arbiol, Anton Guimerà-Brunet, M. Victoria Puig, Blaise Yvert, Xavier Navarro, Kostas Kostarelos and Jose A. Garrido , January 11, 2024, Nanotechnology from nature.
DOI: 10.1038/s41565-023-01570-5