A Cyto-silicon Hybrid System Interfacing a CMOS Electrode Array with Heart and Brain Cells with On-chip Closed-loop Modulation.

We report a mixed-signal CMOS chip with an array of surface electrodes, which is capable of not only electrophysiological recording and stimulation of biological cells but also low-latency closed-loop modulation between the recorded and stimulated cells. To demonstrate the utility of the on-chip closed-loop modulation as an artificial feedback pathway between biological cells, we have developed a silicon-cardiomyocyte self-sustained oscillator with a tunable locked frequency and a silicon-neuron interface that offers an artificial (silicon) inhibitory connection between neurons. These chip-cell interfaces smear the boundary between biological and semiconductor systems.