3Brain BioCAM X microelectrode arrays for electrophysiology

The BioCAM X from 3Brain is a high-resolution system for in vitro electrophysiological imaging using a microelectrode array (MEA) biochip. It allows simultaneous recordings from a total of 4096 electrodes sampled at 18 kHz per electrode, thus allowing monitoring of thousands of neurons. Applications include human stem cell-derived neurons, acute brain slices, drug discovery, plasticity studies, cardiomyocyte cultures and optogenetics-combined studies.

At the core of the MEA biochip is an active monolithic CMOS device packaged onto a substrate together with a glass reservoir, enabling on-chip amplification and multiplexing, which allows long-term, continuous and simultaneous recording of electrophysiological signals. The wide opening of the reservoir allows the use of a microscope for concurrent visual inspection of the experiment, as well as integrating other recording techniques as patch clamp and voltage sensitive dyes.

The product allows high sampling frequency and a user-selectable recording bandwidth for any type of signal, from slow field potentials to single action potentials. The three BioChip 4096 series provide different spatial resolutions and recording areas. This allows full monitoring of electrophysiological signals in a field of view up to ~26 mm² from a large variety of biological preparations, ranging from cell cultures to intact tissue such as brain slices and explanted retina.

Further features include: the ability to store or compress entire raw signals; temperature control; an electrical programmable current-driven stimulator; easy integration with instrumentation like microscopes, perfusion and patch-clamp systems; and the ability to be interfaced with a laptop.