Artin Petrossians, Ph.D. Student in Materials Science
Current Research:
His current project is directed to electrochemical approaches for synthesis of platinum-iridium alloys with selected platinum-iridium ratio content and subsequently predetermined mechanical properties and electrochemical impedance properties, applied on microeletrodes used in neural implants. Such can provide a simple and cost-effective process for preparing these electrodes, as compared to conventional thin film processing techniques. Mixed layers of platinum atoms and iridium atoms can be deposited from electrolyte solution onto the working electrode surface to create an electrically conductive surface with material properties related to the composition of the as-deposited film. Small-scale microelectrodes are used in a number of applications. One promising field of application of microelectrodes is for neural prosthetic medical devices, which are typically used to stimulate nerve cells to overcome pre-existing medical conditions. Examples of such medical conditions include diseases producing damage to the retina such as uveitis, retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma. Metallic microelectrodes have been used for neural prosthetic medical devices. Platinum and platinum-based alloys have proven useful for such microelectrodes because of the high degree of bio-compatibility afforded.
