Study on combination of polydopamine and gold nanorods for photothermal neuronal activity modulation platform

Abstract

Polydopamine is a multifunctional adhesive polymer, which is applicable to the surface modification for neural interface. The polymer is widely used in the biomedical field as a primer layer for immobilizing materials having amine or thiol groups on their surfaces. In addition, polydopamine is a potential candidate for photothermal treatment of cancer, due to its wide absorption spectra and photothermal effects with the NIR region of light. In this paper, the optical and photothermal properties of polydopamine film, and the attachment of gold nanorods on the polydopamine film were investigated, in efforts to apply the adhesive and photothermal properties of polydopamine to the photothermal nerve stimulation platform. Finally, in order to evaluate the function and efficiency of the combination of polydopamine and gold nanorods in neuronal activity inhibition, cultured neurons were photostimulated. This study suggested the feasibility of using polydopamine as a surface modification material for developing photothermal platform for inhibition of neural activities in vitro.