Monitoring of dopamine release in single cell using ultrasensitive ITO microsensors modified with carbon nanotubes

The study of single cell dynamics has been greatly adapted in biological and medical research and applications. In this work a novel microfluidic electrochemical sensor with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) modified indium tin oxide (ITO) microelectrode was developed for single cells release monitoring. The sensitivity of the electrochemical sensor after CNTs surface modification was improved by 2.5-3 orders of magnitude. The developed CNTs modified ITO sensor was successfully employed to monitor the dopamine release from single living rat pheochromocytoma (PC 12) cells. Its ultrahigh sensitivity, transparency and need for fewer agents enable this smart electrochemical sensor to become a powerful tool in recording dynamic release from various living tissues and organs optically and electrically. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.