{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T01:41:26Z","timestamp":1760146886705,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,30]],"date-time":"2024-12-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1735516800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft","award":["434434223\u2013SFB 1461"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["434434223\u2013SFB 1461"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Biological neural circuits are based on the interplay of excitatory and inhibitory events to achieve functionality. Axons form long-range information highways in neural circuits. Axon pruning, i.e., the removal of exuberant axonal connections, is essential in network remodeling. We propose the photocatalytic growth and chemical dissolution of gold lines as a building block for neuromorphic computing mimicking axon growth and pruning. We predefine photocatalytic growth areas on a surface by structuring titanium dioxide (TiO2) patterns. Placing the samples in a gold chloride (HAuCl4) precursor solution, we achieve the controlled growth of gold microstructures along the edges of the indium tin oxide (ITO)\/TiO2 patterns under ultraviolet (UV) illumination. A potassium iodide (KI) solution is employed to dissolve the gold microstructures. We introduce a real-time monitoring setup based on an optical transmission microscope. We successfully observe both the growth and dissolution processes. Additionally, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis confirms the morphological changes before and after dissolution, with dissolution rates closely aligned to the growth rates. These findings demonstrate the potential of this approach to emulate dynamic biological processes, paving the way for future applications in adaptive neuromorphic systems.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules30010099","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,2]],"date-time":"2025-01-02T12:51:24Z","timestamp":1735822284000},"page":"99","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Mimicking Axon Growth and Pruning by Photocatalytic Growth and Chemical Dissolution of Gold on Titanium Dioxide Patterns"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"30","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-3067-3252","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fatemeh","family":"Abshari","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Chair for Integrated Systems and Photonics, Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kiel University, Kaiserstr. 2, 24143 Kiel, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Moritz","family":"Paulsen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Chair for Integrated Systems and Photonics, Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kiel University, Kaiserstr. 2, 24143 Kiel, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1310-6651","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Salih","family":"Veziroglu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Chair for Multicomponent Materials, Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Engineering, Kiel University, Kaiserstr. 2, 24143 Kiel, Germany"},{"name":"Kiel Nano, Surface and Interface Science (KiNSIS), Kiel University, Christian-Albrechts-Platz 4, 24118 Kiel, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alexander","family":"Vahl","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Chair for Multicomponent Materials, Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Engineering, Kiel University, Kaiserstr. 2, 24143 Kiel, Germany"},{"name":"Kiel Nano, Surface and Interface Science (KiNSIS), Kiel University, Christian-Albrechts-Platz 4, 24118 Kiel, Germany"},{"name":"Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology, Felix-Hausdorff-Str. 2, 17489 Greifswald, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4234-7833","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Martina","family":"Gerken","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Chair for Integrated Systems and Photonics, Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kiel University, Kaiserstr. 2, 24143 Kiel, Germany"},{"name":"Kiel Nano, Surface and Interface Science (KiNSIS), Kiel University, Christian-Albrechts-Platz 4, 24118 Kiel, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"011305","DOI":"10.1063\/1.5129306","article-title":"The Building Blocks of a Brain-Inspired Computer","volume":"7","author":"Kendall","year":"2020","journal-title":"Appl. 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