New graphene microelectrodes offer new potential in neurological research

Engineers in the US have created a new type of microelectrode that could be instrumental in analysing the circuitry of the brain in greater detail.

The transparent new component is made of graphene and is only one atom thick, making it ideal for simultaneous optical imaging and electrophysiological recordings of neural circuits. It was created at the Perelman School of Medicine and the School of Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania.

Scientists are interested in charting how individual neural circuits operate in epilepsy and other neurological disorders by conducting real-time observation using optical imaging and electrophysiological recording. However, typical metallic microelectrodes are opaque, meaning they block the view and create shadows that can obscure important details.

Other beneficial aspects of the new microelectrodes include their non-magnetic and anti-corrosive properties, meaning they could also have wider applications.

Study co-author Duygu Kuzum said: "It can provide information on neural circuits, which wasn't available before … We can also look at other neurological disorders and try to understand the correlation between different neural circuits using this technique."

Graphene is considered to have a wide variety of potential medical engineering applications, due to its thinness, transparency, tensile strength and conductivity.