CAREER: Biomimetic 2-in-1 Sensor for Probing Mechanical and Electrical Cellular Responses Simultaneously

细胞是生物学中的基本功能元素，因此细胞状态最终与人类健康和身体功能的各个方面有关。细胞的机械和电行为是指示细胞状态的两个基本特性，因此对健康监测、疾病诊断和组织修复具有重要意义。对细胞状态的全面评估需要同时了解机械和电气特性，这仍然具有挑战性，因为这两种特性通常是由不同的传感器测量的，而细胞的扰动程度随着使用传感器的数量而增加。该项目旨在开发一种纳米级（即非常小的）传感器，可以同时测量细胞的机械和电气特性。在一个传感器中两种测量的收敛将提供(1)同时测量两种特性的自动解决方案，以及(2)在不引入额外细胞扰动的情况下获取信息的手段。这种传感器技术可以为疾病建模、药物筛选和健康诊断带来更精确的生物医学设备。跨学科研究也将成为拓展和扩大STEM教育参与的平台。该项目将研究纳米结构传感器中的多种传感机制，以实现在细胞传感器界面上同时进行机械和电信号耦合和转导。核心方法是借用多功能生物感觉细胞器的结构来设计纳米级传感器，该传感器有望产生多参数传感的功能仿真。在一个设备中合并多个传感功能的概念将扩大一般生物界面工程的能力，产生(1)多参数测量的同步和可扩展性解决方案和(2)2合1？经济一体化方法对减少对生物系统的入侵很重要。最终是仿生学？一换多？传感器概念将导致高效、并行和多线程的蜂窝监测和通信。所开发的传感器技术也将为细胞力学和电生理学的基础研究提供新的工具。该研究还将为仿生方法提供新的见解，以建立与生物系统的有效接口。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The cell is a basic functional element in biology, and as such the cellular state is ultimately connected to every aspect in human health and bodily function. The mechanical and electrical behaviors of a cell are two basic properties that indicate cell state, and consequently are important for health monitoring, disease diagnosis, and tissue repair. A comprehensive assessment of cellular status requires the knowledge of both mechanical and electrical properties at the same time, which remains challenging because the two properties are usually measured by different sensors, while the degree of cell perturbation increases with the number of sensors used. This project aims to develop a type of nanoscale (i.e., very small) sensor which can simultaneously measure both the mechanical and electrical properties in a cell. The convergence of both measurements in one sensor will provide (1) an automatic solution to the simultaneous measurement of both properties, and (2) a means of acquiring information without introducing additional cell perturbation. This sensor technology can lead to more precise biomedical devices for disease modeling, drug screening, and health diagnostics. The interdisciplinary research will also serve as a platform for outreach and broadening participation in STEM education.This project will investigate multiple sensing mechanisms in a nanostructured sensor to enable simultaneous mechanical- and electrical-signal couplings and transductions at the cell-sensor interface. The central approach is to borrow from structures in multifunctional biological sensory organelles to engineer a nanoscale sensor, which is expected to yield functional emulation for multi-parameter sensing. The concept of merging multiple sensing functions in one device will broaden the capabilities of general bio-interface engineering, yielding (1) a solution in synchronization and scalability for multiparameter measurements and (2) a ?2-in-1? economical integration approach important for minimizing invasiveness to biosystems. Eventually the biomimetic ?one-for-more? sensor concept will lead to efficient, parallel, and multi-thread cellular monitoring and communication. The developed sensor technology will also provide a new tool for fundamental studies in cell mechanics and electrophysiology. The research will also provide new insight on biomimetic approaches to building efficient interface to biosystemsThis award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.