Electrochemical aptamer-based (E-AB) sensors are short DNA/RNA molecule-modified sensors that reversibly bind to a target molecule, resulting in a change in signal response. E-AB sensors have not been exploited for single cell analysis thus far, given perceived constraints on both spatial and temporal resolution. Typically, E-AB sensors are large, often on the mm scale, and this will prohibit their use for probing local species information at a single cell level. Here, it is shown that E-AB sensors can be miniaturized to a sizescale amenable to studying single cells, and operate with fast response times which allows fast measurement of a target molecule.<br/><br/>The selectivity of E-AB sensors means that they can be used to monitor a specific target in a complex system, such as at a cell releasing glio- and neurotransmitters. This includes monitoring targets previously inaccessible by in-situ detection platforms used to monitor single cell neurotransmitter release, such as fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV), since targets need not be redox active. Release of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) from astrocyte cells will be presented, although aptamers can be engineered for detection of a huge range of biologically relevant targets using the E-AB sensor platform. This will ultimately allow mechanistic information to be determined about important release processes of glio- and neurotransmission.

Monitoring single cell release of non-redox active gliotransmitters using electrochemical aptamer-based sensors

256th National Meeting (2018)

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