Faraday’s Scalpel: electrochemical oxygen reduction for precise neural tissue ablation

We propose a novel concept of a “Faraday’s scalpel”: an approach to deoxygenate brain tissue using electrocatalytic oxygen reduction and direct electrical currents. The hypothesis is that local hypoxia induced by the Faraday Scalpel electrode will selectively destroy neurons while preserving other cells, opening new possibilities for precise electrosurgery for conditions like epilepsy. This proposal has three objectives: A) optimize two types of faradaic electrodes: one for hypoxia, and another for hypoxia plus hydrogen peroxide generation; B) develop multifunctional electronic/optical implantable probes to deoxygenate tissue while allowing in situ characterization of oxygen level, tissue morphology, and electrophysiology. C) apply the concept in vivo to achieve hypoxic ablation, validated by measuring neural activity and optical /histological methods. The project is interdisciplinary, covering electrochemistry, microelectronics, physiology, and advanced optical imaging. Success of our project will create powerful tools for basic research and a promising approach for neurosurgery.