Three-Dimensional-Printed Flexible Nanosilver Electrode Array for Parallel and Robust Intracellular Electrophysiological Recording
Keda Shi, Liang Hu, Duote Cai, Xing Liu, Jilin Zheng, Dongxin Xu, Qunchen Yuan, Qianwen Xiong, Haoran Gong, Xiaoyang Zhu, Ning Hu, Chunlian Qin
Abstract
Cardiac electrophysiology, particularly intracellular action potential (iAP) recordings, is vital for advancing the understanding and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. In this work, we present a 3D-printed flexible nanosilver electrode array (FlexNEA) that enables simple and efficient circuit fabrication within several minutes using a multimaterial electric-field-driven (EFD) micro-jet 3D printing strategy and achieves over 99% success rates in intracellular access through electroporation. The NEA with flexible property creates an enhanced cell-electrode coupling, with the cardiomyocyte membrane wrapping tightly around the nanosilver electrode, leading to superior signal quality in contrast to the conventional planar electrodes. The 3D-printed FlexNEA enables stable, high-fidelity intracellular recordings by multiple consecutive biosafe electroporations over a short or long period of time. Moreover, the platform exhibits a powerful drug screening function by accurately detecting drug-induced iAP alterations, providing a precise and quantitative assessment of ion-channel drug effects. In summary, the 3D-printed FlexNEA device and integrated biosensing-regulating platform present a significant advance in the high-fidelity intracellular recording technology of cardiac electrophysiology. The platform advances the development of low-cost, biocompatible NEA systems for preclinical research in the cardiology and pharmacology fields.