Planar Nanoneedles on-chip for intracellular measurements

We present for the first time a functional planar SiN-nanoneedle system for intracellular mass transport and in vivo electrophysiological measurements on-chip. Though several micro- or nanoneedles for cell research have been described in literature, no needles of this small size equipped with nanosized inner channels or electrodes have been reported. A propidium iodide assay verifies the excellent penetration performance of the nanoneedles with diminished leakage from the cell after insertion and release of the needle from HL60- cells. Hollow needles connected to on-chip sub-picoliter electrochemical dosing systems are in development.