ABSTRACT
In recent years, there has been a growing interest across diverse ‰elds of science, medicine, and engineering in devices capable of probing and manipulating materials at the nanoscale (Whitesides, 2003). For instance, in cell biology, nanosize probes facilitate minimally intrusive probing of cells and their subcellular components and affect intercellular processes (Brehm-Stecher and Johnson, 2004). The term cell nanosurgery has been coined to characterize overall cell probing activities, including the modi‰cation of cells (via material injection and removal), the sensing of cellular processes (with optical, biochemical, mechanical, and electrical means), and the studying of the properties of cell structure (by manipulation of organelles and molecules) (Leary et al., 2006). Various miniaturized devices have been developed for cell nanosurgery, including nanoscale needles for the intracellular injection of material, nanoelectrodes for studying cells’ signaling, and micro-or nanoelectromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) for high-throughput cell analysis. In this chapter, we
CONTENTS
23.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1017 23.2 Glass-Based Cell Probes .................................................................................................. 1018
23.2.1 Glass Micropipettes ............................................................................................. 1018 23.2.2 Glass Fiber Probes ................................................................................................ 1020 23.2.3 Glass Micropipettes with Metal Cores ............................................................. 1020
23.3 Nanotube and Nanopipe-Based Cell Probes ............................................................... 1022 23.3.1 CNTs and Nanopipes .......................................................................................... 1022 23.3.2 Carbon-Based Cell Nanoprobes ........................................................................ 1022 23.3.3 Noncarbon-Based Cell Nanoprobes .................................................................. 1024
23.4 AFM-Based Cell Probes .................................................................................................. 1024 23.5 MEMS/NEMS-Based Cell Probes ................................................................................. 1025 23.6 Carbon Nanopipettes ...................................................................................................... 1026
23.6.1 Fabrication ............................................................................................................. 1026 23.6.2 Properties .............................................................................................................. 1027 23.6.3 Probing and Injecting Cells with CNPs ........................................................... 1028 23.6.4 CNPs as Intracellular Electrodes ....................................................................... 1031 23.6.5 Fluid Flow through CNP-like Structures ......................................................... 1033 23.6.6 Future Prospects of CNPs ................................................................................... 1035
23.7 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 1035 Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................... 1037 References ................................................................................................................................... 1037
review briey a broad range of nanotechnologies developed for probing cells and their environments.
