Morphine-sensitive synaptic transmission emerges in embryonic rat microphysiological model of lower afferent nociceptive signaling.

Debilitating chronic pain resulting from genetic predisposition, injury, or acquired neuropathy is becoming increasingly pervasive. Opioid analgesics remain the gold standard for intractable pain, but overprescription of increasingly powerful and addictive opioids has contributed to the current prescription drug abuse epidemic. There is a pressing need to screen experimental compounds more efficiently for analgesic potential that remains unmet by conventional research models.

Advances in 3D neuronal microphysiological systems: towards a functional nervous system on a chip.

Microphysiological systems (MPS) designed to study the complexities of the peripheral and central nervous systems have made marked improvements over the years and have allowed researchers to assess in two and three dimensions the functional interconnectivity of neuronal tissues. The recent generation of brain organoids has further propelled the field into the nascent recapitulation of structural, functional, and effective connectivities which are found within the native human nervous system. Herein, we will review advances in culture methodologies, focused especially on those of human tissues, which seek to bridge the gap from 2D cultures to hierarchical and defined 3D MPS with the end goal of developing a robust nervous system-on-a-chip platform.

Bundling of axons through a capillary alginate gel enhances the detection of axonal action potentials using microelectrode arrays.

Microelectrode arrays (MEAs) have become important tools in high throughput assessment of neuronal activity. However, geometric and electrical constraints largely limit their ability to detect action potentials to the neuronal soma. Enhancing the resolution of these systems to detect axonal action potentials has proved both challenging and complex.

Use of a capillary alginate gel (Capgel™) to study the three-dimensional development of sensory nerves reveals the formation of a rudimentary perineurium.

Background: Peripheral neuropathies affect approximately 20 million people in the United States and often stem from other chronic conditions, such as diabetes. In vitro methodologies to facilitate the understanding and treatment of these disorders often lack the cellular and functional complexity required to accurately model peripheral neuropathies. In particular, they are often 2D and fail to faithfully reproduce the 3D in vivo microenvironment.