Understanding how transmembrane proteins interact with and influence the electrical properties of a cell requires accurate measurement and control of the electrical potential across the cell membrane. Recently, conductive nanowires and nanowire field effect transistors have successfully recorded and/or controlled the transmembrane potential with high temporal resolution and excellent signal to noise ratios. While these innovative nanotechnologies provide a powerful alternative to conventional electrophysiology methods based on glass micropipettes, previous nanowire electrodes have not been suitable for high-throughput screening and sorting of individual cells. Here we show that horizontal nanowire electrodes suspended in a microfluidic chamber allow us to rapidly test and sort cells based on their electrical properties. Additionally, within each nanowire recording chamber we can perform fluorescence microscopy, and apply optical or chemical stimuli. After testing, we can then sort cells according to their electrophysiological phenotype and collect them for further analysis including RNA sequencing. With this high-throughput electrophysiology-assisted cell sorter we envision rapid discovery and development of transmembrane proteins such as ion channels, receptors, and fluorescent voltage sensors.

Nanowire electrophysiology for cell sorting and screening

248th National Meeting (2014)

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