Table 2.

Highlights of efforts to address biological response in neural probe engineering.

Goal	Approach	Reference
Enhance neuronal adhesion while inhibiting astrocyte and meningeal cell adhesion	Immobilized neural cell adhesion molecule L1-NCAM on SiO2 surfaces	Webb et al. (2001)
Mitigate astrocyte and microglial reaction	Immobilized anti-inflammatory tridecapeptide (α-MSH) on single shank planar electrodes	He et al. (2007)
Achieve solvent-induced change in elastic modulus	Water-based stimuli responsive cellulose nanofibers embedded in a matrix formed from ethylene oxide epichlorohydrin or poly (vinylacetate)	Capadona et al. (2008)
Fabricate multi-functional neural electrodes with low impedance, reduced mechanical mismatch between electrode-tissue interface and drug releasing properties	Silicon probe coated with biodegradable nanofibers of PLGA loaded with dexamethasone followed by a coat of alginate gel to induce slow drug release. PEDOT electrochemically polymerized onto electrode sites around PLGA within the alginate gel to reduce impedance	Abidian and Martin (2009)
Fabricate neuroprosthetic device with microfluidic channels for biomolecule release to reduce tissue reaction	3-D probe structures (micron-sized channels) fabricated using surface micromachining and DRIE techniques to facilitate diffusion-mediated delivery of transferrin in vivo	Retterer et al. (2004)