The Carbon Bionanotechnology Laboratory at CIC biomaGUNE directed by the Ikerbasque Professor and AXA Chair holder Maurizio Prato participates in a study that reveals that graphene can enhance the activity of neurons, confirming the unique properties of this nanomaterial.
The research has been published in the prestigious journal Nature Nanotechnology and reports for the first time experimentally the phenomenon of ion 'trapping' by graphene carpets and its effect on the communication between neurons.
The study led by SISSA - International School of Advanced Studies, in collaboration with the University of Antwerp, the University of Trieste, CIC biomaGUNE and the Institute of Science and Technology of Barcelona, analyzed the behavior of neurons grown on a single layer of graphene, observing a strengthening of their activity.
Through theoretical and experimental approaches the researchers have shown that such behaviour is due to reduced ion mobility, in particular of potassium, to the neuron-graphene interface. This phenomenon is commonly called 'ion trapping', already known at theoretical level, but observed experimentally for the first time only now.
Link to the article:
Single-layer graphene modulates neuronal communication and augments membrane ion currents
Niccolò Paolo Pampaloni, Martin Lottner, Michele Giugliano, Alessia Matruglio, Francesco D’Amico, Maurizio Prato, Josè Antonio Garrido, Laura Ballerini, and Denis Scaini, Nature Nanotechnology 2018,