Stretchable Microelectrode Arrays for Electro‐Mechanical Probing of Brain Spheroids

ABSTRACT Mechanical forces shape brain development and contribute to pathological conditions such as traumatic brain injury. However, their direct effects on neural electrophysiology remain difficult to elucidate. Here, we introduce a multimodal system capable of delivering controlled mechanical actuation to brain spheroids while simultaneously recording their spontaneous electrophysiological activity. The platform enables culturing spheroids onto kirigami‐patterned stretchable thin‐film microelectrode arrays over multiple days. The array reliably records spontaneous spheroid activity and sustains uniaxial mechanical stimulation with controlled elongation and speed, ranging from manual precision stretching to high‐velocity impacts. We capture spheroid deformation during slow stretch (∼100 µm/s) and detect acute electrophysiological changes following high‐velocity stimulation (∼1–2 m/s). This multimodal platform establishes a foundational system for systematic in vitro investigations of how mechanical forces regulate functional activity in 3D tissues.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Healthcare Materials
Published
2026-10-06
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.71788
Primary Topic
Neuroscience and Neural Engineering
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Stretchable Microelectrode Arrays for Electro‐Mechanical Probing of Brain Spheroids

Loris Gomez Baisac, Stéphanie P. Lacour, Scott Erickson, Luc Stoppini et al.
Advanced Healthcare Materials
Neuroscience and Neural Engineering
article

Stretchable Microelectrode Arrays for Electro‐Mechanical Probing of Brain Spheroids

Loris Gomez Baisac, Stéphanie P. Lacour, Scott Erickson, Luc Stoppini, Laetitia Nikles, Eleonora Martinelli, João Pinheiro Marques, Benoît Delaup, Giuseppe Schiavone, Ivan Furfaro, Adrien Roux, Camille Lucette Gabrielle Delgrange, Desirée Maulà, Laurine Kolly, Julian Bär, Flavius Timis, Tala El Kaissi, Sina Röllin
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Mechanical forces shape brain development and contribute to pathological conditions such as traumatic brain injury. However, their direct effects on neural electrophysiology remain difficult to elucidate. Here, we introduce a multimodal system capable of delivering controlled mechanical actuation to brain spheroids while simultaneously recording their spontaneous electrophysiological activity. The platform enables culturing spheroids onto kirigami‐patterned stretchable thin‐film microelectrode arrays over multiple days. The array reliably records spontaneous spheroid activity and sustains uniaxial mechanical stimulation with controlled elongation and speed, ranging from manual precision stretching to high‐velocity impacts. We capture spheroid deformation during slow stretch (∼100 µm/s) and detect acute electrophysiological changes following high‐velocity stimulation (∼1–2 m/s). This multimodal platform establishes a foundational system for systematic in vitro investigations of how mechanical forces regulate functional activity in 3D tissues.

Advanced Healthcare Materials
HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland (CH), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (CH)
Openalex Percentile: Top 18%
Neuroscience and Neural Engineering
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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