2 research outputs found
Characterization of the Cell–Nanopillar Interface by Transmission Electron Microscopy
Vertically aligned nanopillars can serve as excellent
electrical,
optical and mechanical platforms for biological studies. However,
revealing the nature of the interface between the cell and the nanopillar
is very challenging. In particular, a matter of debate is whether
the cell membrane remains intact around the nanopillar. Here we present
a detailed characterization of the cell-nanopillar interface by transmission
electron microscopy. We examined cortical neurons growing on nanopillars
with diameter 50–500 nm and heights 0.5–2 μm.
We found that on nanopillars less than 300 nm in diameter, the cell
membrane wraps around the entirety of the nanopillar without the nanopillar
penetrating into the interior of the cell. On the other hand, the
cell sits on top of arrays of larger, closely spaced nanopillars.
We also observed that the membrane-surface gap of both cell bodies
and neurites is smaller for nanopillars than for a flat substrate.
These results support a tight interaction between the cell membrane
and the nanopillars and previous findings of excellent sealing in
electrophysiology recordings using nanopillar electrodes
Dual-Functional Lipid Coating for the Nanopillar-Based Capture of Circulating Tumor Cells with High Purity and Efficiency
Clinical
studies of circulating tumor cells (CTC) have stringent demands for
high capture purity and high capture efficiency. Nanostructured surfaces
have been shown to significantly increase the capture efficiency yet
suffer from low capture purity. Here we introduce a dual-functional
lipid coating on nanostructured surfaces. The lipid coating serves
both as an effective passivation layer that helps prevent nonspecific
cell adhesion and as a functionalized layer for antibody-based specific
cell capture. In addition, the fluidity of lipid bilayers enables
antibody clustering that enhances the cell–surface interaction
for efficient cell capture. As a result, the lipid-coating method
helps promote both the capture efficiency and capture purity of nanostructure-based
CTC capture