The fabrication of an olfactory receptor neuron chip based on planar multi-electrode array and its odor-response analysis

A novel olfactory neurochip based on olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) cultivated on the surface of the 60-channel planar multi-electrode array (MEA) devices was developed in this study. In order to investigate the odor-response characteristics of ORNs, two types of odorants at different concentrations were quantitatively pumped into the neurochip by a customized gas intake system, and the extracellular electrical activities of multiple ORNs were simultaneously recorded in vitro. Accordingly, the odor-response features of ORNs such as firing amplitude, firing threshold, firing rate as well as firing channels were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively in terms of ORN spike trains. Especially, after introducing the classification algorithm based on the spike threshold, the odor-response maps from the multiple sites could be used to identify dl-limonene (LIM) and isoamyle acetate (ISO) odorants. These preliminary studies indicate that the ORN-based biosensor developed here has a potential capability of distinguishing different odorants as a true bionic electronic nose.