Overview
- A Johns Hopkins–CNR Italy team built disordered glass nanowire mats that mimic brain tissue while remaining optically transparent.
- Astrocytes grown on the nanowire substrate regained branching, star-like morphology and showed in vivo-like maturation.
- The method integrates label-free, high-resolution 3D imaging, enabling precise morphology measurements without staining.
- The work, published in Advanced Science, addresses a long-standing limitation of flat glass cultures that collapse astrocyte structure.
- Researchers say the platform could advance brain-on-a-chip systems, organoids, and studies of neurodegenerative disease, drug effects, and brain injury.