The new technology could help to understand the transmission of diseases from cell to cell or to investigate the development of stem cells more closely.

The research group led by Prof. Janos Vörös, head of the Laboratory for Biosensors and bioelectronics, uses a fluid-force microscope, which is equipped with the smallest cantilevers. Their tips have pores made of silicon nitride, which will be placed in front of a transport protein of the cell's surface. If substances are transported through the transport protein, the ion current is measured. Due to the composition of the transported molecules the ion current changes allowing conclusions about the released signal substances.

Original publication:
Aramesh, M., Forró, C., Dorwling-Carter, L., Lüchtefeld, I., Schlotter, T., Ihle, S. J., Shorubalko, I., Hosseini, V., Momotenko, D., Zambelli, T., Klotzsch, E. & Vörös, J. (2019). Localized detection of ions and biomolecules with a force-controlled scanning nanopore microscope. Nature Nanotechnology, DOI: 10.1038/s41565-019-0493-z

Source:
https://www.laborpraxis.vogel.de/zellgefluester-forscher-fangen-bio-nachrichten-ab-a-851403/