Ultrasound-Induced Neuromodulation Using a Microelectrode Array System

Abstract

Source: Liang, R. et al., Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation of Human In Vitro Neural Cultures in Multi-Well Microelectrode Arrays. J. Vis. Exp. (2024)

This video demonstrates the method for inducing the modulation of neural activity in cultured human iPSC-derived neurons in a multi-well microelectrode array, or MEA system using a focused ultrasound transducer.

Protocol

1. Preparation of materials

1. Aspirate the culture medium and use it to fill a single well in a 24-well neuron culture plate with an embedded microelectrode array (MEA) (Figure 1A).
2. Sterilize the parafilm interface, the rubber band, and the focused ultrasound (FUS) cone with its rubber membrane using 70% ethanol for 10 min, and place them in the fume hood for later assembly.
3. Degas 300 mL of deionized water and 50 mL of coupling gel. Centrifuge the water and gel at 160 x g for 5 min to avoid inducing cavitation within the coupling medium.
   NOTE: The original source of the hu....

Results

Figure 1: FUS neuromodulation with a multi-well microelectrode array (MEA). (A) Schematic of the setup for FUS neuromodulation with a multi-well MEA. The acoustic waves generated by the FUS transducer propagate through an FUS cone fill.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
MEA System	Axion Biosystem Inc.	Maestro Edge	Sampling Rate: 11500 Hz
MEA Plate	Axion Biosystem Inc.	CytoView MEA	Electrode and Well: 16 electrodes in 24 wells
Well plate Interface	Amcor Inc.	Parafilm PM996; P7793	Thickness: 127 µm
CO2 Tank and Regulator for culture	AirGas Inc./ Harris Inc.	9296NC	Concentration: 5%
Culture Media	ThermoFisher Inc.	Laminin; 23017-015	Concentration: 1 µg/mL
HiPSC Neurons	Peprotech	CIPS and GM01582 Derived; 450-10	Concentration: 10 ng/mL (Refer Taga et al [2021]13)
Transducer	Sonic Concepts Inc.	CTX250; 008	Center Frequency: 250 kHz
Matching Network	Sonic Concepts Inc.	CTX250; NFS102v2	Impedance: 50 Ω
Transducer Power Output (TPO)	Sonic Concepts Inc.	Version 4.1; 020	Frequency: From 250 kHz to 2.5 MHz
Membrane	McMaster Inc.	Silicone Rubber; 5542N115	Thickness: 0.0127 cm
Coupling Gel	Parker Laboratory Inc.	Aquasonic 100; B08DDWG GXB	Viscosity: 130,000–185,000 cops
Connection to Probe holder	McMaster Inc.	Steal Threaded Rod; 90322A661	Length: 1–1/2" Long
Hydrophone	Sonic Concepts Inc.	Y-104; 009	Range: 50 kHz–1.9 MHz
Water Tank	Sonic Concepts Inc.	WT	Size: 30 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm
Water Conditioning Unit	Sonic Concepts Inc.	WCU; SN006	Flow Velocity: 50 mL/s maximum
Oscilloscope	Rohde-Schwarz Inc.	RTC1002	Sampling rate: Up to 50 MHz
Stage	Sonic Concepts Inc.	MicroStage; 2	Accuracy: 1 µm
Thermochromic sheet	TIPTEMP Inc.	Liquid Crystal Sheet; TLCSEN337	Range: 22–24 °C
Computer	Microsoft Surface	Surface Pro	CPU i5 1035G4: 3.7 GHz
Data Transfer Software	Mathworks Inc.	MATLAB	Version 2021b
Processing Software	Python Software Foundation	Python	Version 3.7.10