THESIS
2015
iii leaves, iv-xvii, 124 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 30 cm
Abstract
Ion channels are important cellular transmembrane proteins for passively transporting
inorganic ions into or out of cells. The study of ion channels, or more broadly the cell
electrophysiology, is not only beneficial to fundamental study, but also for drug discovery.
One gold standard tool to study ion channel’s activities is patch clamp, which could provide
the detection limit to single ion channel level. However, due to the delicate configuration used
and membrane damage caused by high seal resistance requisite, it’s technically hard for patch
clamp to monitor cells’ electrophysiological activities in multiple sites and for a long term.
Microelectrode array and field-effect transistor array thus have been introduced for solving
those issues by implementing an extracellular det...[
Read more ]
Ion channels are important cellular transmembrane proteins for passively transporting
inorganic ions into or out of cells. The study of ion channels, or more broadly the cell
electrophysiology, is not only beneficial to fundamental study, but also for drug discovery.
One gold standard tool to study ion channel’s activities is patch clamp, which could provide
the detection limit to single ion channel level. However, due to the delicate configuration used
and membrane damage caused by high seal resistance requisite, it’s technically hard for patch
clamp to monitor cells’ electrophysiological activities in multiple sites and for a long term.
Microelectrode array and field-effect transistor array thus have been introduced for solving
those issues by implementing an extracellular detection scheme. Nevertheless, they suffer the
problem of low sensitivities while the rigid substrates used in those techniques make them
hardly be applied to in vivo usages.
In this thesis work, we intended to tackle these problems by developing a novel cell
electrophysiological signal monitoring approach based on the organic electrochemical
transistor (OECT) array, in which both high sensitivities and device mechanical flexibilities
were achieved. A simple fabrication method, which is compatible to be used in standard
fabrication facilities, was firstly developed for fabricating miniaturized OECT arrays on both
rigid glass and flexible PET substrates. Their sensing abilities were then exemplified by
monitoring the electrophysiological signals of transepithelial ion transport from human airway
epithelial cells and action potentials from both HL-1 cells and primary rat cardiomyocytes.
Meanwhile, drug screening capabilities of OECT based devices were also successfully
demonstrated by accurately recording cell signal changes with corresponding drugs’ effects.
With the high sensitivities and mechanical flexibilities, OECT arrays are promising to be
integrated into novel biomedical devices for both conventional and emerging needs.
Post a Comment