Faster than the speed of hearing: nanomechanical force probes enable the electromechanical observation of cochlear hair cells

Nano Lett. 2012 Dec 12;12(12):6107-11. doi: 10.1021/nl3036349. Epub 2012 Nov 29.

Abstract

Understanding the mechanisms responsible for our sense of hearing requires new tools for unprecedented stimulation and monitoring of sensory cell mechanotransduction at frequencies yet to be explored. We describe nanomechanical force probes designed to evoke mechanotransduction currents at up to 100 kHz in living cells. High-speed force and displacement metrology is enabled by integrating piezoresistive sensors and piezoelectric actuators onto nanoscale cantilevers. The design, fabrication process, actuator performance, and actuator-sensor crosstalk compensation results are presented. We demonstrate the measurement of mammalian cochlear hair cell mechanotransduction with simultaneous patch clamp recordings at unprecedented speeds. The probes can deliver mechanical stimuli with sub-10 μs rise times in water and are compatible with standard upright and inverted microscopes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Electrochemical Techniques
  • Equipment Design
  • Hair Cells, Auditory / cytology*
  • Mechanical Phenomena
  • Mechanotransduction, Cellular*
  • Mice
  • Nanotechnology / instrumentation*