Stretchable Electrode Based on Au@Pt Nanotube Networks for Real-Time Monitoring of ROS Signaling in Endothelial Mechanotransduction

Abstract

Vascular endothelial cells (ECs) are natively exposed to dynamic cyclic stretch and respond to it by the production of vasoactive molecules. Among them, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are closely implicated to the endothelial function and vascular homeostasis. However, the dynamic monitoring of ROS release during endothelial mechanotransduction remains a steep challenge. Herein, we developed a stretchable electrochemical sensor by decoration of uniform and ultrasmall platinum nanoparticles (Pt NPs) on gold nanotube (Au NT) networks (denoted as Au@Pt NTs). The orchestrated structure exhibited prominent electrocatalytic property toward the oxidation of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) (as the most stable ROS) while maintaining excellent mechanical compliance of Au NT networks. Moreover, the favorable biocompatibility of Au NTs and Pt NPs promoted the adhesion and proliferation of ECs cultured thereon. These allowed in situ inducing ECs mechanotransduction and synchronously real-time monitoring of H 2 O 2 release. Further investigation revealed that the production of H 2 O 2 was positively correlated with the applied mechanical strains and could be boosted by other coexisting pathogenic factors. This indicates the great prospect of our proposed sensor in exploring ROS-related signaling for the deep understanding of cell mechanotransduction and vascular disorder.

Plasticizer and catalyst co-functionalized PEDOT:PSS enables stretchable electrochemical sensing of living cells

“…hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), nitric oxide (NO) and serotonin) release from stretched endothelial cells and inflated intestine were successfully monitored. [9,[12][13][14][15] This notable advance is of great benefit to study the mechanism of forceactivated signalling in mechanotransduction.…”

“…[7,16,17] Moreover, to monitor the very weak biochemical signals in the primary mechanotransduction, the stretchable electrodes usually need further functionalization to improve their performance, such as sensitivity, selectivity or stretchability. [9,13,15,19] Therefore, stretchable electrochemical sensors face with great challenges due to the limitation of both electrode materials and processing technique, and facile and versatile fabrication strategies are urgently needed to advance their applications.…”

Homeostasis inside Single Activated Phagolysosomes: Quantitative and Selective Measurements of Submillisecond Dynamics of Reactive Oxygen and Nitrogen Species Production with a Nanoelectrochemical Sensor

“…34,35 PtCl6 2-was then reduced by formic acid (HCOOH) to form Pt nanonuclei (Pt NNs) with the size and morphology suitable for optimal electrocatalytic performance. [36][37][38][39][40] Once the Pt nucleation started, a large number of Pt NNs spontane-ously formed onto the surface of SiC NWs (Figure S2). However, pursuing the reaction beyond this stage triggered an autocatalytic reduction of PtCl6 2-onto the Pt NNs surface, yielding too large Pt aggregates (Figure S3).…”

Electrochemical Cell-Based Sensor for Detection of Food Hazards

“…Then, cells were adsorbed on the electrode surface by the molecular interaction between cysteine and the hydrogel coated with the cells, and an electrochemical cell sensor with excellent performance was constructed [ 35 ]. Due to the good catalytic performance of gold nanoparticles for reactive oxygen species, some researchers have realized the detection of hydrogen peroxide and nitric oxide released by cells by using the characteristics of gold nanoparticles [ 36 , 37 ].…”