PC12 cell integrated biosensing neuron devices for evaluating neuronal exocytosis function upon silver nanoparticles exposure

摘要

In this research, we explored a rapid assessment of silver nanoparticles(Ag-NPs) neurotoxicity at a single-cell level. Traditional nanotoxicity assays on large cell-populations may hide the important heterogeneity of individual cells often found in neuronal cells. The development in the area of new nanomaterial discoveries is far ahead of the development of advanced tools to measure these materials' toxicity. Development of alternative approaches to assess nanomaterials toxicity rapidly, reliably, and accurately is desirable. Here, we present a chip-based, cell-integrated microwell-array device for rapid assessment of neurotoxicity of Ag-NPs by monitoring the exocytosis function of a PC12 cell. Results presented here confirm the dose-dependent toxicity of Ag-NPs and the immediate alteration of their exocytosis function when exposed to NPs.