Preferential cell attachment to nitrogen-doped diamond-like carbon (DLC:N) for the measurement of quantal exocytosis.
Electrochemical measurement of transmitter or hormone release from individual cells on microchips has applications both in basic science and drug screening. High-resolution measurement of quantal exocytosis requires the working electrode to be small (cell-sized) and located in immediate proximity to the cell. We examined the ability of candidate electrode materials to promote the attachment of two hormone-secreting cell types as a mechanism for targeting cells for to recording electrodes with high precision. We found that nitrogen-doped diamond-like carbon (DLC:N) promoted cell attachment relative to other materials tested in the rank order of DLC:N>In(2)O(3)/SnO(2) (ITO), Pt>Au. In addition, we found that treating candidate electrode materials with polylysine did not increase attachment of chromaffin cells to DLC:N, but promoted cell attachment to the other tested materials. We found that hormone-secreting cells did not attach readily to Teflon AF as a potential insulating material, and demonstrated that patterning of Teflon AF leads to selective cell targeting to DLC:N "docking sites". These results will guide the design of the next generation of biochips for automated and high-throughput measurement of quantal exocytosis.
Sen
Atanu
A
Department of Biological Engineering, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
Barizuddin
Syed
S
Hossain
Maruf
M
Polo-Parada
Luis
L
Gillis
Kevin D
KD
Gangopadhyay
Shubhra
S
D000818:Animals; D002244:Carbon / Q000378:metabolism*; D002417:Cattle; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D019439:Chromaffin Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D018130:Diamond / Q000737:chemistry*; D004566:Electrodes; D005089:Exocytosis / Q000187:drug effects; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D008670:Metals; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000737:chemistry*; D011107:Polylysine / Q000494:pharmacology; D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene / Q000737:chemistry; D051381:Rats
D008670:Metals; D011107:Polylysine; D002244:Carbon; D018130:Diamond; D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene; D009584:Nitrogen