Transactions of FAMENA, Vol. 50 No. 2, 2026.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.21278/TOF.502086326
SEM/EDS Characterisation of MEA Substrates with 3D Microtopography: Composition Uniformity Metrics and Salt-Residue Coverage
Boris Delipetar
orcid.org/0009-0003-6700-4452
; Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Split, Split, Croatia
*
Ivana Weber
; Faculty of Science, University of Split, Split, Croatia
Damir Kovačić
; Faculty of Science, University of Split, Split, Croatia
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
This study presents the characterisation of microelectrode array (MEA) chips with 3D microtopography using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The aim was to evaluate the uniformity of the composition across four microtopographic zones and between individual chips, as well as to assess surface coverage following the drying of Neurobasal-A (NB-A) culture medium. The atomic fractions of the chip elements were expressed by the titanium ratio (Ti_index) on three chips. The residue coverage of the chip surface with dried NB-A droplets on a four-chip sample (3 or 30 µL; two chips per volume) was expressed by NaCl_index (Na and Cl relative to chip-related elements). A two-factor ANOVA test showed a tendency for the Ti_index to vary across zones rather than between chips, implying a high-quality manufacturing process. The NaCl_index increased with the volume of the culture medium without a noticeable effect across zones, indicating that the dried medium may mask the microstructures of the chip surface.
Keywords
microelectrode array (MEA); microstructured topography; energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS); surface characterisation
Hrčak ID:
346504
URI
Publication date:
9.4.2026.
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