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Updated: Aug 3, 2025
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Monitoring the Effect of Osmotic Stress on Secretory Vesicles and Exocytosis
Published on: February 19, 2018
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Rapid exocytosis kinetics measured by amperometry within volcano microelectrodes
Nicolas Maïno1, Arnaud Bertsch1, Philippe Renaud1
1Ecole Polytechique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland. nicolas.maino@epfl.ch.
The Analyst
|April 11, 2023
Summary
A novel electrochemical sensor with volcano-shaped tips enables high-throughput, rapid exocytosis measurements. This technology reveals faster vesicle fusion mechanisms, advancing synaptic process research.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Electrochemistry
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Carbon fiber microelectrodes are standard for synaptic-level measurements but have low throughput.
- Planar microelectrodes miss molecules due to their featureless design, limiting exocytosis studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a new electrochemical sensor addressing limitations of current methods for exocytosis measurement.
- To enable high-throughput, volume-confined recordings of synaptic processes.
Main Methods:
- Designed a novel sensor with protruding, volcano-shaped tips (2 μm diameter) housing individually addressable microelectrodes.
- Utilized amperometry to measure exocytotic releases from PC12 cells.
Main Results:
- Achieved volume-confined and parallelizable recordings of exocytosis.
- Measured exocytotic releases with quantal size matching established values.
- Observed exocytotic events occurring on a significantly faster timescale (within 0.5 ms).
Conclusions:
- The sensor's topography perturbs the plasma membrane, potentially accelerating vesicle fusion.
- Faster exocytosis kinetics suggest substrate geometry can manipulate synaptic processes.
- This work opens new avenues for investigating synaptic transmission and related disorders.
