  We report on the recent development of a versatile analog front-end
compatible with a negative-ion $\mu$-TPC for a directional dark matter search
as well as a dual-phase, next-generation $\mathcal{O}$(10~kt) liquid argon TPC
to study neutrino oscillations, nucleon decay, and astrophysical neutrinos.
Although the operating conditions for negative-ion and liquid argon TPCs are
quite different (room temperature \textit{vs.} $\sim$88~K operation,
respectively), the readout electronics requirements are similar. Both require a
wide-dynamic range up to 1600 fC, and less than 2000--5000 e$^-$ noise for a
typical signal of 80 fC with a detector capacitance of $C_{\rm det} \approx
300$~pF. In order to fulfill such challenging requirements, a prototype ASIC
was newly designed using 180-nm CMOS technology. Here, we report on the
performance of this ASIC, including measurements of shaping time, dynamic
range, and equivalent noise charge (ENC). We also demonstrate the first
operation of this ASIC on a low-pressure negative-ion $\mu$-TPC.
