Cellular adhesion and neuronal excitability on functionalised diamond surfaces

In order to explore the capability of diamond for fabricating MEAs as cell-based biosensors, we report here the first study on the adhesion and cell excitability (i.e., the ability of cells to generate and propagate trains of electrical impulses) on hydrogen (HTD)- and oxygen (OTD)-terminated diamond surfaces. Adhesion and functional properties of cultured rat hippocampal neurons and chick ciliary ganglia have been quantitatively evaluated using well-established biophysical techniques. Cells survive, adhere and maintain their electrical properties (synaptic activity, ion channels availability, Ca2+ signals during neuronal stimulation) for days provided that mixtures of adhesion molecules (poly-d-lysine, poly-dl-ornithine, laminin) are used to favour cell anchoring on diamond surface.