Descripción del proyecto
Nuevos endoscopios neurales híbridos metal-dieléctricos de metasuperficie
Un mejor conocimiento de los circuitos neuronales y las funciones electroquímicas del cerebro podría generar mejores diagnósticos y terapias. Sin embargo, las interfaces neuronales actuales tienen una capacidad limitada para interpretar la compleja señalización eléctrica y química que se produce en distintas partes del tejido cerebral. El proyecto MINING, financiado por el Consejo Europeo de Investigación, pretende desarrollar y demostrar endoscopios neurales multifuncionales avanzados capaces de estimular y detectar la señalización eléctrica y molecular con resolución celular en organismos vivos. Para lograrlo, aprovechará las interacciones luz-materia en metasuperficies híbridas metal-dieléctricas y su integración sinérgica con transistores electroquímicos orgánicos. En consecuencia, los endoscopios podrán identificar múltiples tipos de señales en el mismo volumen con una resolución espacial y temporal profunda.
Objetivo
Capturing the dynamics of brain activity in its multifaceted components is a key challenge for neural interfaces. Deciphering the complex electrical and chemical signaling exchanged by the different constituents of the brain tissue will result in a better understanding of neural circuits and functions, informing and enabling novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Next generation of research tools should therefore aim at a multifunctional and fully integrated approach, probing and triggering multiple signals simultaneously with high spatio-temporal resolution and low invasiveness. MINING aspires at generating a novel class of multifunctional neural endoscopes, able to trigger and detect electrical and molecular signaling with cellular resolution in vivo. The result will be the unprecedented ability to correlate multiple types of signals in the same volume, with spatial and temporal resolution at depth. The limitation of current state of the art will be surmounted by exploiting light-matter interactions in hybrid metal-dielectric metasurfaces and their synergistic integration with organic electrochemical transistors. The main objectives of MINING are: 1) Devise hybrid metal-dielectric metasurface (HMS) neural endoscopes, enabling simultaneous (i) high-resolution functional imaging of neural signals, (ii) label-free optical monitoring of chemical compounds from both wide and localized brain volumes and (iii) optogenetic and thermoplasmonic modulation of neural functions with cellular resolution, 2) Integration of organic electrochemical transistors on HMSs endoscopes, generating a novel optoelectrical neural interface with cellular resolution based on active electronics, 3) Development of methods for spatial-resolved multifunctional studies, to demonstrate the power of MINING endoscopes to reveal so far hidden patterns of electrochemical functional dynamics in the living mouse brain.
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Régimen de financiación
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC GrantsInstitución de acogida
16163 Genova
Italia