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Can Nanofluidic Chemical Release Enable Fast, High Resolution Neurotransmitter-Based Neurostimulation?
Artificial chemical stimulation could provide improvements over electrical neurostimulation. Physiological neurotransmission between neurons relies on the nanoscale release and propagation of specific chemical signals to spatially-localized receptors. Current knowledge of nanoscale fluid dynamics an...
Autores principales: | , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2016
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4815362/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27065794 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2016.00138 |
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author | Jones, Peter D. Stelzle, Martin |
author_facet | Jones, Peter D. Stelzle, Martin |
author_sort | Jones, Peter D. |
collection | PubMed |
description | Artificial chemical stimulation could provide improvements over electrical neurostimulation. Physiological neurotransmission between neurons relies on the nanoscale release and propagation of specific chemical signals to spatially-localized receptors. Current knowledge of nanoscale fluid dynamics and nanofluidic technology allows us to envision artificial mechanisms to achieve fast, high resolution neurotransmitter release. Substantial technological development is required to reach this goal. Nanofluidic technology—rather than microfluidic—will be necessary; this should come as no surprise given the nanofluidic nature of neurotransmission. This perspective reviews the state of the art of high resolution electrical neuroprostheses and their anticipated limitations. Chemical release rates from nanopores are compared to rates achieved at synapses and with iontophoresis. A review of microfluidic technology justifies the analysis that microfluidic control of chemical release would be insufficient. Novel nanofluidic mechanisms are discussed, and we propose that hydrophobic gating may allow control of chemical release suitable for mimicking neurotransmission. The limited understanding of hydrophobic gating in artificial nanopores and the challenges of fabrication and large-scale integration of nanofluidic components are emphasized. Development of suitable nanofluidic technology will require dedicated, long-term efforts over many years. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-4815362 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2016 |
publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-48153622016-04-08 Can Nanofluidic Chemical Release Enable Fast, High Resolution Neurotransmitter-Based Neurostimulation? Jones, Peter D. Stelzle, Martin Front Neurosci Neuroscience Artificial chemical stimulation could provide improvements over electrical neurostimulation. Physiological neurotransmission between neurons relies on the nanoscale release and propagation of specific chemical signals to spatially-localized receptors. Current knowledge of nanoscale fluid dynamics and nanofluidic technology allows us to envision artificial mechanisms to achieve fast, high resolution neurotransmitter release. Substantial technological development is required to reach this goal. Nanofluidic technology—rather than microfluidic—will be necessary; this should come as no surprise given the nanofluidic nature of neurotransmission. This perspective reviews the state of the art of high resolution electrical neuroprostheses and their anticipated limitations. Chemical release rates from nanopores are compared to rates achieved at synapses and with iontophoresis. A review of microfluidic technology justifies the analysis that microfluidic control of chemical release would be insufficient. Novel nanofluidic mechanisms are discussed, and we propose that hydrophobic gating may allow control of chemical release suitable for mimicking neurotransmission. The limited understanding of hydrophobic gating in artificial nanopores and the challenges of fabrication and large-scale integration of nanofluidic components are emphasized. Development of suitable nanofluidic technology will require dedicated, long-term efforts over many years. Frontiers Media S.A. 2016-03-31 /pmc/articles/PMC4815362/ /pubmed/27065794 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2016.00138 Text en Copyright © 2016 Jones and Stelzle. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. |
spellingShingle | Neuroscience Jones, Peter D. Stelzle, Martin Can Nanofluidic Chemical Release Enable Fast, High Resolution Neurotransmitter-Based Neurostimulation? |
title | Can Nanofluidic Chemical Release Enable Fast, High Resolution Neurotransmitter-Based Neurostimulation? |
title_full | Can Nanofluidic Chemical Release Enable Fast, High Resolution Neurotransmitter-Based Neurostimulation? |
title_fullStr | Can Nanofluidic Chemical Release Enable Fast, High Resolution Neurotransmitter-Based Neurostimulation? |
title_full_unstemmed | Can Nanofluidic Chemical Release Enable Fast, High Resolution Neurotransmitter-Based Neurostimulation? |
title_short | Can Nanofluidic Chemical Release Enable Fast, High Resolution Neurotransmitter-Based Neurostimulation? |
title_sort | can nanofluidic chemical release enable fast, high resolution neurotransmitter-based neurostimulation? |
topic | Neuroscience |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4815362/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27065794 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2016.00138 |
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