Self-aligned microchip device for automated measurement of quantal exocytosis

Neurons and endocrine cells secrete neurotransmitters and hormones as a method for cell-to-cell communication through the process of exocytosis. Disruption of exocytosis underlie neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and the accounts for the toxicity of clostridial neurotoxins. In order to study the regulation of exocytosis it is important to carry out studies at the level of single-cells and resolve single-vesicle release events. Carbon-fiber microelectrodes are commonly used to perform single-cell measurements but are slow and labor-intensive to use. Therefore we are developing microchip devices with arrays of electrochemical electrodes for highthroughput measurement of single-vesicle release events.