Search

In vitro devices that combine chemotactic and physical cues are needed for understanding how cells integrate different stimuli. We explored the suitability of lithium niobate (LiNbO3), a transparent ferroelectric material that can be patterned with electrical charge domains and micro/nanotopography, as a neural substrate. On flat LiNbO3 z-surfaces with periodically alternating charge domains, cortical axons are partially aligned with domain boundaries. On submicron-deep etched trenches, neurites are aligned with the edges of the topographical features. Finally, we bonded a bicompartmental microfluidic chip to LiNbO3 surfaces patterned by etching, to create isolated axon microenvironments with predefined topographical cues. LiNbO3 is shown to be an emerging neuron culture substrate with tunable electrical and topographical properties that can be integrated with microfluidic devices, suitable for studying axon growth and guidance mechanisms under combined topographical/chemical stimuli. European Commission - European Regional Development Fund Higher Education Authority Science Foundation Ireland University College Dublin Swedish Research Council

We present the design and calibration of a scanning force microscope which can be used to study friction, adhesion, and contact potential differences between the cantilever tip and surface. The microscope uses a modular design where the laser, cantilever/sample holder, reflecting mirror, and detector are mounted directly on an optical table. The laser, reflecting mirror, and detector are mounted on translation and rotation stages. With this design the components can be rearranged to calibrate the Z piezo motion as a function of applied voltage. Using the detector micrometers, the detector response (voltage‐to‐distance relationship) can be determined after each series of measurements. The cantilever/sample holder is constructed such that the components are material matched and thermally compensated from a common reference point. This design feature minimizes thermal drift of the instrument. The instrument can be used in a contact scanning mode where both normal and lateral deflections of the cantilever are...

Variability in the coverage or usable lifetime of active molecules at the apex of an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip is a key limitation to biomolecular force measurements with AFM. Microfabricated tip arrays make it possible to measure molecular forces between large arrays of biological molecules with AFM. The forces are measured between a probeless microfabricated cantilever and a microfabricated array containing approximately 105 addressable probes with variable radii. We measure intermolecular forces between the model ligand–receptor pair streptavidin–biotin, to demonstrate that these tip arrays can circumvent these coverage and lifetime obstacles. Further development of these arrays promises to provide a means for measuring millions of different intermolecular interactions, paving the way for AFM to be realistically applied to screen combinatorial libraries.

This letter presents the observation of stable and reproducible electronic conduction through double stranded (ds) DNA molecules in a nominally dry state. Stable conduction was realized by immobilizing 15 base-pair guanine:cytosine rich dsDNA within gold nanogap junctions, stabilizing the dsDNA with a polycation, and characterizing in nitrogen. In air, the current levels decrease with successive voltage scans likely due to oxidation of the guanine bases under bias. In nitrogen, reproducible current-voltage traces are observed and the current levels at specific bias points are stable with time. The stability allows comprehensive electrical studies and could enable conductance-based DNA sensors.