Electrochemical Polymerization of PEDOT/Biomolecule Composite Films on Microelectrodes for the Measurement of Extracellular Field Potential

Abstract

Microelectrode arrays (MEAs) are very powerful sensor devices for the non-invasive measurement of extracellular field potentials from excited cells. In this study, new types of interfaces were developed on MEAs by exploiting the electrochemical polymerization of conducting polymers with biomolecules. The composite films were composed of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophen) (PEDOT) and anionic polysaccharide (gellan gum). The PEDOT/biomolecule composite films had no cytotoxic effect, and reduced the electrode impedance at 1 kHz to 8.84 ± 0.50 kΩ. This biointerface enabled us to record extracellular field potentials derived from the spontaneous beating of cardiomyocytes.