Validation of micro-platelet LED for subcellular optogenetic activation in primary cell cultures

Sammanfattning: Epilepsy is to this day still a serious neurological diseases where treatments such as pharmaceutical agents and surgery can at most alleviate the symptoms, but not cure it. This disease is still not fully understood at a cellular and network-level, but the recent advancements in the field of optogenetics can serve as an alternative way of studying the brain and diseases such as epilepsy. By genetically alter neurons to express light-sensitive ion channels, it becomes possible to manipulate and observe the behavior of neurons at a cellular level by stimulating them with light. In this project, a device with micron sized light-emitting diodes have been developed as a tool to stimulate optogenetic neurons. The goal of the project was to make these devices a suitable environment for cell growth and viable for electrophysiological experimentation. Cell culturing on top of devices yielded non-healthy cells but also that the device packaging did not withstand the conditions it were put through when submerged in liquid and supplied with current. Future approaches would be to use alternative protocols for cell extraction and application of biocoating, but also to design a platform that could protect the electrical contacts more effectively from conducting liquids.