Silicon-based biosensor functionalised with carbon nanotubes to investigate neuronal electrical activity in ph-stimulated environment: a modelling approach

Monitoring the bioelectrochemical activity of living cells with biosensors represents a technique in a large area of biomedical applications. The main appeal is the ability of these devices to perform, in real-time, non-invasive in vitro investigations of the physiological state of a cell population. In this Letter, the authors present a microsystem model, intended for both electrical activity and cellular metabolism simulation, to detect both extracellular signals and pH variations induced by neuron populations. In particular, the neuroelectronic junction established by interfacing neuronal cells to carbon nanotubes vertically grown on the surface of an ion-sensitive field effect transistor was analysed and modelled to simulate the induced extracellular neuronal electrical activity under environmental pH-stimulated conditions.