Carbon nanotube probes for single-cell experimentation and assays

Integrating nanotechnology with experimental biology is paramount to advancing fundamental biological science and technology, and, therefore, of high current interest and importance. In this article, we report on a new possibility of utilizing carbon nanotube probes assembled by a modified dielectrophoretic based technique for single-cell experimentation and delivery. The modified approach permits highly reproducible construction of water-stable, highly-aligned, and electrically-conductive probes several hundred microns in length, which hold a great promise for enhancing previously developed molecular-scale intracellular experimental techniques. The results of this work, in particular, indicate that the minimally invasive nanotube probes could be advantageous for studies involving permeabilization and subsequent desorption of molecules into a cell’s interior, thereby obviating permeabilization and diffusion across membranes.