Hydrogenated Graphene Improves Neuronal Network Maturation and Excitatory Transmission

Matteo Moschetta; Jong Young Lee; João Rodrigues; Alice Podestà; Omar Varvicchio; Jangyup Son; Yangjin Lee; Kwanpyo Kim; Gwan Hyoung Lee; Fabio Benfenati; Mattia Bramini; Andrea Capasso

doi:10.1002/adbi.202000177

Hydrogenated Graphene Improves Neuronal Network Maturation and Excitatory Transmission

Matteo Moschetta, Jong Young Lee, João Rodrigues, Alice Podestà, Omar Varvicchio, Jangyup Son, Yangjin Lee, Kwanpyo Kim, Gwan Hyoung Lee, Fabio Benfenati, Mattia Bramini, Andrea Capasso

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Graphene is regarded as a viable bio-interface for neuroscience due to its biocompatibility and electrical conductivity, which would contribute to efficient neuronal network signaling. Here, monolayer graphene grown via chemical vapor deposition is treated with remote hydrogen plasma to demonstrate that hydrogenated graphene (HGr) fosters improved cell-to-cell communication with respect to pristine graphene in primary cortical neurons. When transferred to polyethylene terephthalate, HGr exhibits higher wettability than graphene (water contact angle of 83.7° vs 40.7°), while preserving electrical conductivity (≈3 kΩ □^-1). A rich and mature network is observed to develop onto HGr. The intrinsic excitability and firing properties of neurons plated onto HGr appears unaltered, while the basic passive and active membrane properties are fully preserved. The formation of excitatory synaptic connections increases in HGr with respect to pristine graphene, leading to a doubled miniature excitatory postsynaptic current frequency. This study supports the use of hydrogenation for tailoring graphene into an improved neuronal interface, indicating that wettability, more than electrical conductivity, is the key parameter to be controlled. The use of HGr can bring about a deeper understanding of neuronal behavior on artificial bio-interfaces and provide new insight for graphene-based biomedical applications.

Original language	English
Article number	2000177
Journal	Advanced Biology
Volume	5
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/adbi.202000177
Publication status	Published - 2021 Jan

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
A. Mehilli, D. Moruzzo, R. Ciancio, and I. Dallorto are gratefully acknowledged for primary cell culture preparations, as well as for technical and administrative support. This work was supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement Grant Agreement No. 785219—Graphene Flagship—Core2 and Ministero degli Affari Esteri e Cooperazione Internazionale of Italy (Farnesina – MAECI) (Grant No. EPNZ0082). M.B. acknowledges supports from the EU Graphene Flagship‐Core2 (Grant Agreement No. 785219) and the MSCA‐COFUND Athenea3i scheme under the Grant Agreement No. 754446. J.S. acknowledges the support of the grant by the KIST Institution Programs (2Z06030, 2K02420). Y.L. and K.K. acknowledge support from the Institute for Basic Science (IBS‐R026‐D1). G.H.L. acknowledges supports from Basic Science Research Program and the International Research & Development Program through the NRF of Korea (2016M3A7B4910940, 2019K1A3A1A25000267) and Creative‐Pioneering Researchers Program through Seoul National University (SNU). A.C. acknowledges the support of the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska–Curie grant agreement No. 713640.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
Biomedical Engineering
Biomaterials
Medicine(all)

Access to Document

10.1002/adbi.202000177

Cite this

@article{6efc9cd5e997412eb9a0c5bbb0461ace,

title = "Hydrogenated Graphene Improves Neuronal Network Maturation and Excitatory Transmission",

abstract = "Graphene is regarded as a viable bio-interface for neuroscience due to its biocompatibility and electrical conductivity, which would contribute to efficient neuronal network signaling. Here, monolayer graphene grown via chemical vapor deposition is treated with remote hydrogen plasma to demonstrate that hydrogenated graphene (HGr) fosters improved cell-to-cell communication with respect to pristine graphene in primary cortical neurons. When transferred to polyethylene terephthalate, HGr exhibits higher wettability than graphene (water contact angle of 83.7° vs 40.7°), while preserving electrical conductivity (≈3 kΩ □-1). A rich and mature network is observed to develop onto HGr. The intrinsic excitability and firing properties of neurons plated onto HGr appears unaltered, while the basic passive and active membrane properties are fully preserved. The formation of excitatory synaptic connections increases in HGr with respect to pristine graphene, leading to a doubled miniature excitatory postsynaptic current frequency. This study supports the use of hydrogenation for tailoring graphene into an improved neuronal interface, indicating that wettability, more than electrical conductivity, is the key parameter to be controlled. The use of HGr can bring about a deeper understanding of neuronal behavior on artificial bio-interfaces and provide new insight for graphene-based biomedical applications.",

author = "Matteo Moschetta and Lee, {Jong Young} and Jo{\~a}o Rodrigues and Alice Podest{\`a} and Omar Varvicchio and Jangyup Son and Yangjin Lee and Kwanpyo Kim and Lee, {Gwan Hyoung} and Fabio Benfenati and Mattia Bramini and Andrea Capasso",

note = "Funding Information: A. Mehilli, D. Moruzzo, R. Ciancio, and I. Dallorto are gratefully acknowledged for primary cell culture preparations, as well as for technical and administrative support. This work was supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement Grant Agreement No. 785219—Graphene Flagship—Core2 and Ministero degli Affari Esteri e Cooperazione Internazionale of Italy (Farnesina – MAECI) (Grant No. EPNZ0082). M.B. acknowledges supports from the EU Graphene Flagship‐Core2 (Grant Agreement No. 785219) and the MSCA‐COFUND Athenea3i scheme under the Grant Agreement No. 754446. J.S. acknowledges the support of the grant by the KIST Institution Programs (2Z06030, 2K02420). Y.L. and K.K. acknowledge support from the Institute for Basic Science (IBS‐R026‐D1). G.H.L. acknowledges supports from Basic Science Research Program and the International Research & Development Program through the NRF of Korea (2016M3A7B4910940, 2019K1A3A1A25000267) and Creative‐Pioneering Researchers Program through Seoul National University (SNU). A.C. acknowledges the support of the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sk{\l}odowska–Curie grant agreement No. 713640. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH",

year = "2021",

month = jan,

doi = "10.1002/adbi.202000177",

language = "English",

volume = "5",

journal = "Advanced Biology",

issn = "2701-0198",

publisher = "Wiley-VCH Verlag",

number = "1",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Hydrogenated Graphene Improves Neuronal Network Maturation and Excitatory Transmission

AU - Moschetta, Matteo

AU - Lee, Jong Young

AU - Rodrigues, João

AU - Podestà, Alice

AU - Varvicchio, Omar

AU - Son, Jangyup

AU - Lee, Yangjin

AU - Kim, Kwanpyo

AU - Lee, Gwan Hyoung

AU - Benfenati, Fabio

AU - Bramini, Mattia

AU - Capasso, Andrea

N1 - Funding Information: A. Mehilli, D. Moruzzo, R. Ciancio, and I. Dallorto are gratefully acknowledged for primary cell culture preparations, as well as for technical and administrative support. This work was supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement Grant Agreement No. 785219—Graphene Flagship—Core2 and Ministero degli Affari Esteri e Cooperazione Internazionale of Italy (Farnesina – MAECI) (Grant No. EPNZ0082). M.B. acknowledges supports from the EU Graphene Flagship‐Core2 (Grant Agreement No. 785219) and the MSCA‐COFUND Athenea3i scheme under the Grant Agreement No. 754446. J.S. acknowledges the support of the grant by the KIST Institution Programs (2Z06030, 2K02420). Y.L. and K.K. acknowledge support from the Institute for Basic Science (IBS‐R026‐D1). G.H.L. acknowledges supports from Basic Science Research Program and the International Research & Development Program through the NRF of Korea (2016M3A7B4910940, 2019K1A3A1A25000267) and Creative‐Pioneering Researchers Program through Seoul National University (SNU). A.C. acknowledges the support of the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska–Curie grant agreement No. 713640. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH

PY - 2021/1

Y1 - 2021/1

N2 - Graphene is regarded as a viable bio-interface for neuroscience due to its biocompatibility and electrical conductivity, which would contribute to efficient neuronal network signaling. Here, monolayer graphene grown via chemical vapor deposition is treated with remote hydrogen plasma to demonstrate that hydrogenated graphene (HGr) fosters improved cell-to-cell communication with respect to pristine graphene in primary cortical neurons. When transferred to polyethylene terephthalate, HGr exhibits higher wettability than graphene (water contact angle of 83.7° vs 40.7°), while preserving electrical conductivity (≈3 kΩ □-1). A rich and mature network is observed to develop onto HGr. The intrinsic excitability and firing properties of neurons plated onto HGr appears unaltered, while the basic passive and active membrane properties are fully preserved. The formation of excitatory synaptic connections increases in HGr with respect to pristine graphene, leading to a doubled miniature excitatory postsynaptic current frequency. This study supports the use of hydrogenation for tailoring graphene into an improved neuronal interface, indicating that wettability, more than electrical conductivity, is the key parameter to be controlled. The use of HGr can bring about a deeper understanding of neuronal behavior on artificial bio-interfaces and provide new insight for graphene-based biomedical applications.

AB - Graphene is regarded as a viable bio-interface for neuroscience due to its biocompatibility and electrical conductivity, which would contribute to efficient neuronal network signaling. Here, monolayer graphene grown via chemical vapor deposition is treated with remote hydrogen plasma to demonstrate that hydrogenated graphene (HGr) fosters improved cell-to-cell communication with respect to pristine graphene in primary cortical neurons. When transferred to polyethylene terephthalate, HGr exhibits higher wettability than graphene (water contact angle of 83.7° vs 40.7°), while preserving electrical conductivity (≈3 kΩ □-1). A rich and mature network is observed to develop onto HGr. The intrinsic excitability and firing properties of neurons plated onto HGr appears unaltered, while the basic passive and active membrane properties are fully preserved. The formation of excitatory synaptic connections increases in HGr with respect to pristine graphene, leading to a doubled miniature excitatory postsynaptic current frequency. This study supports the use of hydrogenation for tailoring graphene into an improved neuronal interface, indicating that wettability, more than electrical conductivity, is the key parameter to be controlled. The use of HGr can bring about a deeper understanding of neuronal behavior on artificial bio-interfaces and provide new insight for graphene-based biomedical applications.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85108964552&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85108964552&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1002/adbi.202000177

DO - 10.1002/adbi.202000177

M3 - Article

C2 - 33724729

AN - SCOPUS:85108964552

SN - 2701-0198

VL - 5

JO - Advanced Biology

JF - Advanced Biology

IS - 1

M1 - 2000177

ER -

Hydrogenated Graphene Improves Neuronal Network Maturation and Excitatory Transmission

Abstract

Bibliographical note

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this