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Action potential recording from dielectrophoretically positioned neurons inside micro-wells of a planar microelectrode array

Artificial biological neural networks fulfil many roles, from drug discovery to developmental neurobiology to the development of neural computing. However, such networks have always been fabricated in a haphazard fashion, by dropping neurons randomly on electrodes or taking slices through brain tissue, producing connections that are beyond the control of the user. This paper describes for the first time how networks can be assembled using dielectrophoresis to attract and retain single cells to each individual electrode, and how these electrodes can then be connected using defined interelectrode channels, allowing neural networks to be deliberately “wired up” for the first time.