Tomaso Zambelli Laboratory of Biosensors and Bioelectronics, D-ITET, ETH Zurich (Switzerland)

FluidFM for single-cell mechanobiology

FluidFM is a force-controlled nanopipette, combining AFM technology and microfluidics [1]. A fluidic channel is incorporated directly in a hollow AFM cantilever. This channel ends in an aperture at the apex of the AFM tip, allowing for local dispensing of soluble molecules in air and in liquid, while retaining the inherent imaging capabilities and force feedback of an AFM system. After establishing various protocols from single-cell injection and extraction to 3D additive manufacturing of metal microobjects, we are now focusing on scientific open questions.

In this lecture, I am proposing you three studies:

• the FluidFM as force-controlled nanopore [2, 3];
• the transplantation of mitochondria between living cells [4];
• the modulation of the Piezo1-mediated cell mechanosensitivity combining FluidFM with FLIM (Flipper-TR) [5].

[1] Meister et al, Nano Lett 9:2501 (2009)
[2] Aramesh et al, Nat. Nanotech. 14:791 (2019)
[3] Schlotter et al, ACS Nano 14:12993 (2020)
[4] Gäbelein et al, PLoS Biology 20:e3001576 (2022)
[5] Lüchtefeld et al, submitted (2022)