Multichannel Systems MEA Manual - Manual (Page 18)

MEA Manual
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4.6 Eco MEA: 60EcoMEA
60EcoMEA, 60EcoMEA-Glass
60EcoMEAs are available on opaque printed circuit board (PCB) and on transparent glass base (60EcoMEA-
Glass). They are low price variants for medium throughput applications like small screens where material
costs play a bigger role than in more scientific MEA applications.
60EcoMEAs are opaque and are therefore useful only for applications where you do not need a visual
control under a microscope, for example, for established cell cultures. 60EcoMEA-Glasses are transparent
all-purpose MEAs.
Due to the special production process on PCB, electrodes of 60EcoMEAs are available only with a diameter
of 100 μm and an interelectrode distance of 700 μm. The electrodes on 60EcoMEA-Glass also have
a diameter of 100 μm and a distance of 700 μm. Thus, 60EcoMEA or 60EcoMEA-Glass are useful for
applications where a high spatial resolution is not important, but which emphasize on low price
consumables. They have proven to be especially useful for recordings from established cardiomyocyte
cultures. They are not useful for establishing a new cell culture, as the cell performance cannot be
monitored. Multi Channel Systems recommends to use standard 200/30 MEAs for establishing the cell
culture first, then switch to 60EcoMEA or 60EcoMEA-Glass.
60EcoMEAs are provided in the typical 8 x 8 layout with internal reference electrode. Custom layouts
following your personal specifications are possible at very reasonable prices. Please ask your local retailer
for details. Electrodes, tracks, and contact pads are made of pure gold. Due to the soft gold material of the
contact pads, the contact to the amplifier pins is excellent. The insulation material on EcoMEA-Glass chips
is
SU-8 (a photoresist, 1 - 2 μm)
Using 60EcoMEAs
Like standard MEAs, 60EcoMEAs are very robust and heat-stabilized. They can be autoclaved and coated
with different procedures for cell and tissue cultures. The gold electrodes are very robust, too, and are the
only MEA electrodes that will endure more severe cleaning methods.
New 60EcoMEAs are very hydrophobic. They should be coated with nitrocellulose or treated with a plasma
cleaner before use.