Testing the Efficiency of Vertically Aligned Gold Nanowires on a Titanium Needle Implantable Neural Electrodes in the Rattus Norvegicus Hippocampus

Miniaturized multi-electrode arrays are MEMS devices that have found use as neural prosthetics (Neuro-MEMS). As implants they can interface with neurons as sensors or actuators and help compensate for loss of sensory input, motor control, or cognitive function. The micro-electrodes, studied here, were developed in-house. They have a vertically aligned gold nanowire array and are mounted on a sturdy fine gauge titanium needle. Hence, the bill of materials and design characteristics encourage its use as neural probe. For this study, a probe was tested in vivo for signal acquisition in the hippocampus of a Rattus Norvegicus (Sprague Dawley Rat). Using an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) approved protocol, the neural probe was deployed in the CA1 region of the hippocampus of a sedated rat. The signal was obtained as voltage against time and it was filtered for isolated spikes of neural activity, which were sorted in form of a Spike Train-Raster Plot. The qualitative evaluation of data, obtained through the newly developed neural probe, was used as ground work to decide on future research and discuss possible clinical impacts