A novel anti-inflammatory surface for neural electrodes

Researchers have demonstrated through in vitro cell culture studies and in vivo rodent studies that immobilized alpha-MSH creates an inherently anti-inflammatory neural electrode surface such that it significantly attenuates glial response for at least 4 weeks post-implantation. For investigating whether the alpha-MSH peptide remains biologically active when covalently immobilized to the Si surface, primarily rat microglial cells were cultured primarily on the peptide modified surface and subjected the culture to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) bacterial endoxtin. Modulation of the level of TNF-alpha and IL-1 is critical as it not only amplifies the inflammation process by stimulating glial cell proliferation and activation but also cause neuronal death. Indirect signal detection was accomplished by using an anti-DIG antibody, which is conjugated to alkaline phosphatase.