Bio-polymer coatings on neural probe surfaces: Influence of the initial sample composition

► Hyaluronic acid (HYA) was used as a coating material of neural probes. ► Probe surfaces were modified by (3-mercaptopropyl) methyldimethoxysilane (MPMDMS) and HyA was chemically functionalized with SS-pyridin group. ► The coated surfaces were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). This paper presents the results of the study of hyaluronic acid (HyA) coating on two structural materials, silicon oxide (dielectric) surface and platinum (Pt) surface used for fabrication of probes developed for neurological investigations in the framework of the EU-project NeuroProbes. The silicon-based neural probes consist of multiple Pt electrodes on the probe shafts for neural recording applications. HyA coatings were proposed to apply on the probe surfaces to enhance the biocompatibility [1]. This study aims at understanding the influence of the initial composition of the probe surface on the structure and morphology of HyA coating. HyA was chemically functionalized by SS-pyridin using (N-Succinimidyl 3-[2-pyridyldithio]-propionate) (SPDP) and was immobilized on the surfaces via a covalent bond. The dielectric and Pt surfaces were derivatized by use of (3-mercaptopropyl) methyldimethoxysilane (MPMDMS). The silanol groups in MPMDMS bind to the dielectric surface, leaving the thiol groups at the uppermost surface and the thiol groups then bind covalently to the functionalized HyA. On the Pt surface, it is the thiol group which binds on the Pt surface. The coated surfaces were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). A well-defined HyA layer was observed on both dielectric and Pt surfaces. The coating of two molecular weights (340kDa and 1.3MDa) of HyA was examined. The influence of the silanized layer on the HyA coating was also investigated.