| 31 January 2011 | By Severina Cantaron |
authors of this important discovery are the Department of Neuroscience and neurotechnologies (NBT), the Center for Nanoscience and Technology of the Italian Institute of Technology (CNST - Polimi @ IIT), and the Physics Department of Politecnico di Milano. The study will be published in Nature Communications, one of the most important journals devoted to the discoveries in the biological sciences, chemical and physical properties.
work, "A hybrid bio-organic interface for neuronal photo-activation", coordinated by Professor Guglielmo Lanzani, Central of Nanoscience and Technology (CNST) IIT is a major success for the National Research bionanotechnology.
Leading the working group was the desire to seek a solution to the problems related to the malfunctioning of the human retina. The retina is composed of a set of neural photoreceptors, called rods and cones are capable of receiving light signals, convert them into electrical impulses that are then transported to the brain via the optic nerve. Faults, defects or diseases of these photoreceptors lead to consequences more or less serious and debilitating, from blindness to blindness.
The researchers were able to create an artificial retina that can replace this tissue and its functions. is what it is: it consists of an interface between the nerve cells and an organic semiconductor material (called rr-P3HT: PCBM) able to pick up converting light pulses into electrical current. In this way, the interface light stimulation causes activation of neurons, mimicking the process to which they are assigned to the photoreceptors in the retina.
"The use of this material has been crucial in overcoming various problems," says Professor Guglielmo Lanzani the CNST - Iit @ Polimi. "The fact of being organic makes it soft, lightweight and flexible, ensuring a good biocompatibility and avoiding complications surrounding tissues. Moreover, being a polymer semiconductor, has the ability to send electronic pulses and ion without great loss of heat, which could cause extensive damage to the system as a whole. "
The photovoltaic effect also can convert light energy into electrical impulses. This allows, in contrast to the interfaces so far made of metal or silicon, have neither the need for an external power source to function, or having to find a solution to the heat that is dissipated through the generation of an electrical current.
"This approach," says Professor Fabio Benfenati, director of the Department of NBT at IIT, "represents an important alternative to the methods used so far to restore the ability of neurons fotorecettiva. It 's more simple and will not use the technique of gene transfer using viral vectors, which poses some risks. In addition, using the interface type created by our group, you can get a very localized effect of light stimulation, reproducing the spatial resolution of the retina. "
The realization of this prototype artificial retina opens the way to the development of other applications based on photo-stimulation of neurons in the field of Neuroscience and Medicine
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