Multichannel Systems MEA Manual - Manual (Page 20)

MEA Manual
20
4.8 Perforated MEA: 60pMEA
60pMEA200/30iR-Ti 60pMEA100/30iR-Ti
Acute slice recordings on common glass MEAs are done from the cells at the bottom of the slice, which are
in contact with the MEA electrodes. These cells get less oxygen and nutrients from the perfusion medium,
and therefore are likely to give smaller signals and might eventually die first. Perforated MEAs present a
solution to this problem as they allow a perfusion of the tissue from both sides at the same time, thereby
optimizing the oxygen supply of the acute slice.
Perforated MEAs are identical in size and function to the regular MEAs. The recording electrodes are
arranged in 8 x 8 standard layout grid in 60pMEA200/30iR-Ti, and in 6 x 10 layout grid in
60pMEA100/30iR-Ti. The electrodes are integrated into a thin polyimide foil. This thin foil is fixed on
a ceramic or glass waver for mechanical stability. In the middle of the waver, under the electrode field,
there is a hole that makes it possible to access the electrode field from below. The area around the
electrodes is perforated to allow a perfusion of the tissue from both sides. The total area of the holes
averages 0.8 mm, the diameters of the holes varies between 20 μm and 90 μm.
These pMEAs are designed for use with MEA2100-System headstages with perfusion element (PE) and
MEA1060 amplifier equipped with a perfusion ground plate (PGP). The PE or PGP replaces the standard
ground plate of the headstage or MEA1060 amplifier. Please note that there are different types of the
MEA-PGPs for different amplifier types (MEA1060-UP-PGP, MEA1060-UP-BC-PGP, and MEA1060-INV /
INV-BC-PGP). Additional to the use of 60pMEAs together with the MEA2100-(2x)60-System, you can use
120pMEAs with MEA2100-120-System equipped with a perfusion element (PE) integrated in the ground
plate of the headstage.
For an overview of suggested configurations to work with 60pMEAs, see the MEA Application Note
“Acute Hippocampal Slices on pMEAs”.
Using 60pMEAs
Perforated MEAs have a robust ceramic carrier or they are mounted on glass as usual, but the electrodes
are embedded in polyimide foil. Therefore they are heat stable to 50 °C only, and cannot be autoclaved.
Please do not use an ultrasonic bath for cleaning.