Nanopillar Arrays Pin Down Neurons
September 27, 2010 – 9:58 am
Cell migration in a cultured neuronal network presents an obstacle to selectively measuring the activity of the same neuron over a long period of time. To overcome this problem, researchers from Stanford University used nanopillar arrays to pin down neurons to the underlying surface. They created nanopillars with a 150-nm diameter and 1-µm height. After placing embryonic cortical neurons on the nanopillar substrate, neurons that had their cell bodies or neurites attached to the nanopillars remained in an almost fixed position while retaining survival rates and cell morphology similar to the other neurons. Although the cell body is fixed, axons and dendrites are free to grow and elongate into the surrounding area to develop a neuronal network. This technique opens possibilities to study individual cells within neuronal networks, and the nanopillars could be used to trap neurons on top of microelectrodes to improve the neuron-to-electrode contact.
More information on the research is available from Nanoletters.
Tags: cell migration, Nanoletters, Stanford University
