Penn engineers create carbon nanopipettes that are smaller than cells and measure electric current

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From top to bottom: the carbon pipe tip of the CNP buckles when pushed against the wall of a glass pipette and recovers its initial shape once the force is removed. (b) From top to bottom: a CNP penetrates through the membrane of a smooth muscle cell ...
From top to bottom: the carbon pipe tip of the CNP buckles when pushed against the wall of a glass pipette and recovers its initial shape once the force is removed. (b) From top to bottom: a CNP penetrates through the membrane of a smooth muscle cell. The cell is held in place by glass micropipette aspiration. Scale bars, 15 µm. Credit: Reprinted with permission from IOP Publishing

University of Pennsylvania engineers and physicians have developed a carbon nanopipette thousands of times thinner than a human hair that measures electric current and delivers fluids into cells. Researchers developed this tiny carbon-based tool to probe cells with minimal intrusion and inject fluids without damaging or inhibiting cell growth.


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