27/05/2025
Chronic pain affects millions worldwide and remains challenging to understand the underlying biological mechanism and develop effective treatments. At the core of pain perception is a specific group of neurons in the peripheral nervous system, known as C-fiber nociceptors. These neurons have a cell body located in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG), with a bifurcated axon extending into both the peripheral and central nervous systems. They are responsible for transmitting pain signals to the brain, where these signals are processed. Current technologies for in vitro investigations face major limitations: patch-clamp recordings, while precise, are highly invasive and limited to single cells with low temporal resolution; on the other hand, conventional microelectrode arrays (MEAs), though less invasive, often lack the sensitivity to identify the activity generated by the nociceptors in DRG cell cultures.
Researchers from CNR Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems (Cnr-Imm) and Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (Cnr-Isof), in collaboration with the Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology at the University of Bologna, have developed an innovative solution to record in vitro the electrical activity of the pain-sensing neurons. Their strategy is based on a nanostructured MEA integrating silicon nanowires (SiNWs), capable of high-resolution electrical recordings from complex co-cultures of DRG neurons and glial cells.
“The use of SiNWs is what makes the difference, they enable the MEA to reliably record the activity of C-fiber nociceptors by capturing their specific electrical signatures,” says Annalisa Convertino, who coordinated the project and, together with Luca Maiolo, led the research activities at Cnr-Imm “The SiNW platform, which also utilizes astrocytes (glial cells of the central nervous system) as cellular support, allows to obtain physiologically relevant co-cultures of DRG neurons and glial cells by preserving their morphological and functional properties,” adds Valentina Benfenati, who co-led the research with Emanuela Saracino at Cnr-Isof.
The results of the study, published in Advanced Healthcare Materials, offer a promising strategy for developing more accurate preclinical models for pain research and studies on new pharmacological treatments.
The research received significant support from the ICARUS project (FA9550-21-1-0424), funded by the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) under the Biophysics Program. The project is coordinated by Annalisa Convertino and co-coordinated by Valentina Benfenati, it is part of the activities of the Working Group on "Advanced Materials, Nanomaterials, and Biophysics" promoted within the framework of the Italy–USA scientific and technological cooperation, led by Luigi Ambrosio (CNR) and Sofi Bin-Salamon (AFOSR).
Per informazioni:
Annalisa Convertino
CNR - Istituto per la microelettronica e microsistemi
via del Fosso del Cavaliere, 100. 00133 Roma
annalisa.convertino@cnr.it
06/49934581
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