Functionalized Nanodiamonds for Targeted Neuronal Electromagnetic Signal Detection

Intracellular sensing technologies necessitate a delicate balance of spatial resolution, sensitivity, biocompatibility, and stability. While existing methods partially fulfill these criteria, none offer a comprehensive solution. Nanodiamonds (NDs) harboring nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers have emerged as promising candidates due to their sensing capabilities under biological conditions and their ability to meet all aforementioned requirements. This study focuses on expanding the application of NDs and NV center-based sensing to neuronal contexts by investigating their functionalization and subsequent effects on three distinct cell lines relevant to neurodegenerative disease research. Our study concentrates on positioning fluorescent NDs (FNDs) with NV center point defects onto neuronal cell surfaces. Achieving this through specific antibody attachment enhances the proximity of FND to neurites, facilitating the detection of local action potentials. Targeting voltage-dependent calcium channels (Cav2.2) with biotin-streptavidin-bound antibodies enables the precise positioning of FNDs. The functionalized FNDs (f-FNDs) show increased size and zeta potential, confirming the antibody presence without compromising cell viability. Two-color confocal imaging and co-localization algorithms are employed to further attest to the success of the functionalization. The f-FNDs are applied to cell cultures of three cell lines: SH-SY5Y, differentiated dopaminergic neurons, and hippocampal rat neurons; their biocompatibility and effects on synaptic activity are explored. Moreover, preliminary total internal reflection fluorescence - optically detected magnetic resonance (TIRF-ODMR) experiments across cellular sites demonstrate the magnetic field sensitivity of our sensor network. The successful establishment of this sensor network provides a platform for characterizing neuronal signaling in healthy models and conditions mimicking Parkinson's disease.