Carbon-Nanotube-Modified Glass Micropipette for Simultaneous Drug Injection and Neural Monitoring

Abstract

Glass micropipettes are widely used for drug injection in neurological studies. To enable these devices to monitor neural activity simultaneously with drug injection, an electrode such as Ag/AgCl must be located near or inserted into the glass micropipette to detect electrical signals in vivo. Here, we report carbon-nanotube-modified glass micropipettes (CNGs), which have excellent electrochemical properties such as low impedance and large electrochemical surface area suited for neural recording. In addition, using a standard pressure pump, CNGs can deliver drugs to the target region without bending. Because they are based on standard glass micropipettes, CNGs can readily be applied to traditional equipment, creating opportunities to monitor precisely the drug-injected area.