An electrical model of the cell-electrode interface for high-density microelectrode arrays.

A point-contact model is presented, and an area-contact model has been analytically derived in order to model the electrical characteristic of the cell-electrode interface of high-density neuron cultures. The area-contact model is presented as a model more suitable for subcellular multi-electrode resolution, which is a requisite for modeling and simulating the electrical behavior of novel high-density microelectrode arrays. Furthermore, when the electrode is aligned and centered with the cell, an optimum electrode diameter for recording the electrical activity of neural cells can be analytically derived, which is between 7-8 microm with a typical load capacitance of 10 pF.