Microtubule guiding in a multi-walled carbon nanotube circuit

Abstract

In nanotechnological devices, mass transport can be initiated by pressure driven flow, diffusion or by employing molecular motors. As the scale decreases, molecular motors can be helpful as they are not limited by increased viscous resistance. Moreover, molecular motors can move against diffusion gradients and are naturally fitted for nanoscale transportation. Among motor proteins, kinesin has particular potential for lab-on-a-chip applications. It can be used for sorting, concentrating or as a mechanical sensor. When bound to a surface, kinesin motors propel microtubules in random directions, depending on their landing orientation. In order to circumvent this complication, the microtubule motion should be confined or guided. To this end, dielectrophoretically aligned multi-walled-carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) can be employed as nanotracks. In order to control more precisely the spatial repartition of the MWCNTs, a screening method has been implemented and tested. Polygonal patterns have been fabricated with the aim of studying the guiding and the microtubule displacement between MWCNT segments. Microtubules are observed to transfer between MWCNT segments, a prerequisite for the guiding of microtubules in MWCNT circuit-based biodevices. The effect of the MWCNT organization (crenellated or hexagonal) on the MT travel distance has been investigated as well.

Guiding neural extensions of PC12 cells on carbon nanotube tracks dielectrophoretically formed in poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate

“…It can also be applied to building patient-specic disease model chips. 31 Since more complex CNT networks can be formed by just changing the electrode design as demonstrated before, 23 the proposed approach has the capacity for building well-dened neuronal networks with controlled topology.…”

“…1) in a zig-zag shape. [21][22][23] Prior to cell experiment, the DC conductivity of PEGDMA with aligned CNTs was obtained using a source/measure unit and compared to those of PEGDMA with no and randomly distributed CNTs. As can be seen in Fig.…”

Synthetic Systems Powered by Biological Molecular Motors

“…The gliding velocity is governed by the ATP concentration and temperature, , and the direction of the filament movement follows a persistent random walk driven by thermal fluctuations of the tip of the moving filaments . This persistent random walk, as well as the interaction of the filament with obstacles, can be simulated using Brownian dynamics methods. − Gliding filaments can be confined by guiding structures to prescribed paths, ,− directed by obstacles, controlled by light, ,− or other stimuli, ,− and can capture analytes and carry cargo. ,− The natural arrangement of stationary filaments supporting the movement of biomolecular motors is also employed, but the transport distance is largely limited to the length of the filament or filament assembly in this geometry. These discoveries led to more advanced applications including sensors, − computation, screens, and switches .…”

Evaluation of PC12 Cell Neural Differentiation on Graphene Coated ITO Microchips

“…It was thought that this distance will be sufficient for the extension of axon and dendritic structures. After the production of chrome masks, the fabrication of Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) interdigitated array electrode (IDA) microchips was made with use of photolithographic methods [4][5][6][7][8]. In the following microproduction step, patterning was carried out using chrome lithography mask produced specifically for the microchip.…”