Microfluidic neural axon diode

Neural circuits, groups of neurons connected in directional manner, play a central role in information processing. Advances in neuronal biology research is limited by a lack of appropriate in vitro methods to construct and probe neuronal networks. Here, we describe a microfluidic culture platform that directs the growth of axons using “neural diode” structures to control neural connectivity. This platform is compatible with live cell imaging and can be used to (i) form pre-synaptic and postsynaptic neurons by directional axon growth and (ii) localize physical and chemical treatment to pre- or postsynaptic neuron groups (i.e. virus infection and etc.). The “neural diode” design consist of a microchannel that split into two branches: one is directed straight toward while the other returns back toward the starting point in a closed loop to send the axons back to the origin. We optimized the “neural diode” pattern dimension and design to achieve close to 70% directionality with a single unit of the “diode”. W...

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