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SYBP: Biologie und Physik

SYBP 2: Biologie und Physik II

SYBP 2.3: Invited Talk

Wednesday, March 29, 2000, 17:50–18:30, H2

Experiments with Nerve Cells and Silicon Chips — •Peter Fromherz — Max-Planck-Institute for Biochemistry, Department Membrane and Neurophysics; 82152 Martinsried/München

Hybrid systems of silicon and cultured cells are investigated. The project implies three aspects, the geometry of the membrane-silicon contact, the electrical features of the junction, and the interfacing of neurons and microelectronics. (i) Fluorescent dyes in the standing modes of light on silicon are used to study the contact of cells and chips. The distance between membrane and oxide is between 1 and 100 nanometers. (ii) The junction of cells and silicon is described as a two-dimensional core-coat conductor. The electrical conductances are studied with AC methods using an array of 100 open field-effect transistors or field-sensitive fluorescent dyes. The sheet resistance between membrane and chip is between 10 MW and 100 GW. The resistance of the attached membrane is controlled by genetic transfection with ion channels. (iii) Two-way interfaces are developed for capacitive stimulation and recording of simple neuronal nets from electronically active silicon chips.