Stealth Nanoprobes Integrate With Cell Membrane

Stanford engineers have developed a nanoscale probe they can be implanted into a cell wall without damaging the wall. It is a 600-nanometer-long, metal-coated silicon device. By replicating the nanometer-scale hydrophilic-hydrophobic-hydrophilic architecture of transmembrane proteins, artificial “stealth” probes spontaneously insert and anchor within the lipid bilayer core, forming a high-strength interface. The researchers are the first to implant an inorganic device into a cell wall without destabilizing it. Current methods of monitoring a cell, using a patch clamp, are destructive and only allow a few hours of observation before the cell dies. The probe could allow researchers to listen in on electrical signals within the cell. This new monitoring technology could lead to a better understanding of how cells communicate or how a cell responds to medication. One day such a technology may even be used to study intracellular quantum mechanical processes. The probe could also provide a better way to attach neural prostheses and with modification, might be an avenue for inserting medications inside a cell. Results are published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of March 30.
Press release: Nanoscale ‘stealth’ probe slides into cell walls seamlessly, say Stanford engineers…
Article abstract: Fusion of biomimetic stealth probes into lipid bilayer cores PNAS March 30, 2010 vol. 107 no. 13 5815-5820