Recombinant maxi-K channels on transistor, a prototype of iono-electronic interfacing.
We report on the direct electrical interfacing of a recombinant ion channel to a field-effect transistor on a silicon chip. The ion current through activated maxi-K(Ca) channels in human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells gives rise to an extracellular voltage between cell and chip that controls the electronic source-drain current. A comparison with patch-clamp recording shows that the channels at the cell/chip interface are fully functional and that they are significantly accumulated there. The direct coupling of potassium channels to a semiconductor on the level of an individual cell is the prototype for an iono-electronic interface of ligand-gated or G protein-coupled ion channels and the development of screening biosensors with many transfected cells on a chip with a large array of transistors.
Straub
B
B
Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Department of Membrane and Neurophysics, D-82152 Martinsried, Germany.
Meyer
E
E
Fromherz
P
P
D002460:Cell Line; D004581:Electronics; D004594:Electrophysiology / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney; D051036:Large-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Channels; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D015221:Potassium Channels / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D024681:Potassium Channels, Calcium-Activated; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D014162:Transfection; D014173:Transistors, Electronic
D051036:Large-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Channels; D015221:Potassium Channels; D024681:Potassium Channels, Calcium-Activated; D011994:Recombinant Proteins