Advances in semiconductor technology over the past few decades have thoroughly revolutionized modern life. As this technology entered the nanometer size regime, new opportunities arose in applying it to address important biological problems. In this presentation, I will describe a new experimental platform based on vertical nanowires that can serve as a new, versatile biotechnology tool. Specifically, this platform enables high throughput interrogation and manipulation of living cells by providing multiplexed chemical and electrical interfaces to a cell's interior in a minimally invasive fashion. Using vertical nanowires to deliver surface-bound molecules into the cell's cytosol, we have investigated intracellular molecular circuitries that govern immune cells' behavior and studied the origins of clinical heterogeneity in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. We have also used these nanowires to gain direct electrical access to brain cells and subsequently control and monitor neuronal activity. These examples demonstrate the potential of the vertical nanowire platform for diverse biological inquiry.

Vertical nanowire platform: Leveraging semiconductor technology to develop biological tools

244th National Meeting (2012)

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