title: Magnetic nanoparticles for ultrafast mechanical control of inner ear hair cells.
abstract: We introduce cubic magnetic nanoparticles as an effective tool for precise and ultrafast control of mechanosensitive cells. The temporal resolution of our system is ∼1000 times faster than previously used magnetic switches and is comparable to the current state-of-the-art optogenetic tools. The use of a magnetism-gated switch reported here can address the key challenges of studying mechanotransduction in biological systems. The cube-shaped magnetic nanoparticles are designed to bind to components of cellular membranes and can be controlled with an electromagnet to exert pico-Newtons of mechanical force on the cells. The cubic nanoparticles can thus be used for noncontact mechanical control of the position of the stereocilia of an inner ear hair cell, yielding displacements of tens of nanometers, with sub-millisecond temporal resolution. We also prove that such mechanical stimulus leads to the influx of ions into the hair cell. Our study demonstrates that a magnetic switch can yield ultrafast temporal resolution, and has capabilities for remote manipulation and biological specificity, and that such magnetic system can be used for the study of mechanotransduction processes of a wide range of sensory systems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Yonsei University , Seoul 120-749, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae-Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ji-wook
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Levy
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kao
authors.forename: Seung-Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Noh
authors.forename: Dolores
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bozovic
authors.forename: Jinwoo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cheon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006198:Hair Cells, Auditory / Q000502:physiology*; D060328:Magnetic Phenomena; D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D011892:Rana catesbeiana; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles