title: Electrical interfacing of neurotransmitter receptor and field effect transistor.
abstract: The interfacing of a ligand-gated ion channel to a transistor is studied. It relies on the transduction of ion current to a voltage in a cell-transistor junction. For the first time, a genetically modified cell is used without external driving voltage as applied by a patch-pipette. Using a core-coat conductor model, we show that an autonomous dynamics gives rise to a signal if a driving voltage is provided by potassium channels, and if current compensation is avoided by an inhomogeneous activation of channels. In a proof-of-principle experiment, we transfect HEK293 cells with the serotonin receptor 5-HT3A and the potassium channel Kv1.3. The interfacing is characterized under voltage-clamp with a negative transistor signal for activated 5-HT3A and a positive signal for activated Kv1.3. Without patch-pipette, a biphasic transient is induced by serotonin. The positive wave is assigned to 5-HT3A receptors in the free membrane that drive a potassium outward current through the adherent membrane. The negative wave is attributed to 5-HT3A receptors in the adherent membrane that are activated with a delay due to serotonin diffusion. The implementation of a receptor-cell-transistor device is a fundamental step in the development of biosensors that combine high specificity and universal microelectronic readout.
authors.affiliation: Department of Membrane and Neurophysics, Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, D 82152 Martinsried/Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Peitz
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fromherza
mesh_terms: D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D004058:Diffusion; D004594:Electrophysiology / Q000379:methods; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D017136:Ion Transport; D051664:Kv1.3 Potassium Channel / Q000378:metabolism; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter / Q000378:metabolism*; D044406:Receptors, Serotonin, 5-HT3 / Q000378:metabolism; D014173:Transistors, Electronic
chemical_list: D051664:Kv1.3 Potassium Channel; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter; D044406:Receptors, Serotonin, 5-HT3