Fig. 3

MEAs development trends. a (i) traditional 2-dementional MEAs⁷². Copyright 1998 by Elsevier. Reproduced with permission. (ii) mimetic 3D MEAs, which can pierce cell membranes, protruding electrodes can pierce cells to measure high signal-to-noise signals, but do not have a 3D structure⁷³. Copyright 1998 by Elsevier. Reproduced with permission. (iii) 3D MEAs used polyimide materials, less rigid, less aggressive to cells. Reproduced with permission from ref. ⁷⁴ (2020, CC BY 3.0) (iv) product of 3D shell-shaped MEAs, can be wrapped around the surface of brain-like organs to measure a full range of signals. Reproduced with permission from ref. ⁷⁷ (2022, CC BY 4.0). b (i) typical TiN MEAs. Reproduced with permission from ref. ²⁴ (2012, CC BY 3.0) (ii) 128-channel MEAs coated with TPU and PU utilized a liquid metal-polymer conductor, with high light transmission and flexibility. Reproduced with permission from ref. ⁷⁶ (2024, CC BY 4.0) (iii) high transparency MEAs enhanced with PEDOT:PSS, calcium imaging, and fluorescent staining supported. Reproduced with permission from ref. ⁸⁴ (2021, CC BY 4.0). c (i) traditional 60 channels MEAs⁹. Copyright 2007 by Frontiers Research Foundation. Reproduced with permission. (ii) high-density MEAs with PDMS structure fabricated using complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor technology. Reproduced with permission from ref. ⁸⁸ (2022, CC BY 4.0) (iii) 64 × 64 electrode pixels CMOS MEAs platform. Reproduced with permission from ref. ⁸⁹ (2016, CC BY 4.0). d (i) early use of PDMS-isolated culture chambers to customize neural network growth patterns by microfluidic systems⁹⁸. Copyright 2006 by Elsevier. Reproduced with permission. (ii) Graphene perforated electrodes with integrated microfluidic environment enable precise delivery of chemical drugs to localized areas¹⁰². Copyright 2024 by Royal Society of Chemistry. Reproduced with permission. (iii) Perforated MEAs with microfluidic structure¹⁰³. Copyright 2025 by Elsevier. Reproduced with permission