title: Planar patch-clamp force microscopy on living cells.
abstract: Here we report a new combination of the patch-clamp technique with the atomic force microscope (AFM). A planar patch-clamp chip microstructured from borosilicate glass was used as a support for mechanical probing of living cells. The setup not only allows for immobilizing even a non-adherent cell for measurements of its mechanical properties, but also for simultaneously measuring the electrophysiological properties of a single cell. As a proof of principle experiment we measured the voltage-induced membrane movement of HEK293 and Jurkat cells in the whole-cell voltage clamp configuration. The results of these measurements are in good agreement with previous studies. By using the planar patch-clamp chip for immobilization, the AFM not only can image non-adhering cells, but also gets easily access to an electrophysiologically controlled cellular probe at low vibrational noise.
authors.affiliation: Center for Nano Science, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Amalienstr 54, 80799 Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Evren
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pamir
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: George
authors.forename: Niels
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fertig
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Benoit
mesh_terms: D018914:Cells, Immobilized / Q000502:physiology; D004594:Electrophysiology; D004867:Equipment Design; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D019169:Jurkat Cells; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*