A microgripper sensor device capable of detecting ion efflux from whole cells

Abstract

Electrothermally actuated microgripper sensor devices that are capable of simultaneous manipulation of live mouse oocytes and the sensing of potassium ion efflux are presented. The ion selective electrode technology applied to a microgripper device yielded a first generation ion sensor with competitive characteristics in selectivity, sensitivity, stability and temporal resolution. The microgripper sensor devices could readily detect the 9 ± 3 mM efflux of potassium ions upon mechanical stimulation. This technology is generic and applicable to generating potentiometric and amperometric sensing microgrippers.