Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Missouri, 243 Engineering Bldg. West, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
Lab Chip. 2009 Dec 7;9(23):3442-6. doi: 10.1039/b913216c. Epub 2009 Sep 30.
Neurons and endocrine cells secrete neurotransmitter and hormones in discrete packets in a process called quantal exocytosis. Electrochemical microelectrodes can detect spikes in current resulting from the oxidation of individual quanta of transmitter only if the electrodes are small and directly adjacent to release sites on the cell. Here we report development of a microchip device that uses microfluidic traps to automatically target individual or small groups of cells to small electrochemical electrodes. Microfluidic channels and traps were fabricated by multi-step wet etch of a silicon wafer whereas Pt electrodes were patterned in register with the trap sites. We demonstrate high-resolution amperometric measurement of quantal exocytosis of catecholamines from chromaffin cells on the device. This reusable device is a step towards developing high-throughput lab-on-a-chip instruments for recording quantal exocytosis to increase the pace of basic neuroscience research and to enable screening of drugs that target exocytosis.
神经元和内分泌细胞以称为量子胞吐的过程将神经递质和激素以离散的包封形式分泌。只有当电极足够小且直接与细胞上的释放位点相邻时，电化学微电极才能检测到由单个递质量子的氧化产生的电流尖峰。在这里，我们报告了一种微芯片设备的开发，该设备使用微流控阱将单个或小群细胞自动靶向到小的电化学电极。微流道和阱是通过硅晶片的多步湿法刻蚀制造的，而 Pt 电极则与阱位对位图案化。我们在该设备上演示了儿茶酚胺从嗜铬细胞的量子胞吐的高分辨率安培测量。这种可重复使用的设备是朝着开发高通量片上实验室仪器以记录量子胞吐迈出的一步，这将加快基础神经科学研究的步伐，并能够筛选针对胞吐的药物。
